Off to A New Adventure
by Tairelic
Summary: 7 children must rely on each other and a strange group of creatures named digimon to escape a mysterious country. Taishiro, Yamashiro, One-sided Sorato and some eventual Jyoumato. Hope you enjoy this!
1. Prologue

Prologue

* * *

The 5 year-old redhead Koushiro Izumi was playing alone in the Sandbox contentedly.

His "Parents" weren't really watching him closely. Even at his age, he'd seemed responsible so they could stand to not pay attention to him. They had no idea that just the night before, their darkest secret had been revealed to their small son, and while he seemed happy, in reality a heavy burden weighed on his heart. His short life had been a lie, but there was no going back now.

Koushiro stood up to leave the sandbox. He needed a bucket to help shape his sandcastle, but he was distracted by his thoughts and his apparent routine of building something that wasn't real had now failed him as he tripped over the edge of the sandbox.

"Ow" Little Koushiro grunted as he adjusted his leg to examine the damage. Koushiro pulled up the pant leg of his little purple corduroys, finding his leg skinned and bleeding. Now anyone who knew Koushiro could tell you that he was responsible and level-headed, but for a toddler, all the maturity and level-headedness in the world couldn't stop-

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!"

Koushiro was sobbing as hard as he could, tears were streaming down his cheeks, which were turning redder than his hair, when he heard a comforting voice.

"Why are you Crying?

Koushiro rubbed his tear-stained face with his little knuckles and gazed up into the most pure chocolate brown eyes he had ever seen.

"Hello? Why are you crying?"

Koushiro was unsure why he was asking or even cared, seeing that he didn't even know this boy. But his parents, or his fake parents to be more accurate, had always taught him to be polite. So he decided that if this boy had taken his own time to ask, Koushiro shouldn't be rude.

"Are you deaf or Something?" the boy asked

Koushiro shook his head no and pointed to his bleeding leg.

"AW! That's Horrible! But it's okay, my mommy taught me how to make things like that all better."

Then, unexpectedly, the boy leaned down and planted a firm kiss on Koushiro's wound. Koushiro blushed for reasons he wasn't quite sure of, considering he'd seen adults do that sort of thing all the time to cheer little kids up.

"Are you okay?" Asked the brown-eyed little boy.

Koushiro nodded as he sniffled and hiccupped away the last of his tears.

"Do you want some of my ice cream?

"Huh?" Koushiro said, only now noticing a cone of melting chocolate ice cream in the boy's hand, which wasn't nearly as brown or swirling as the boy's beautiful eyes.

"My name's Taichi! What's yours?"

A smile slowly spread across the Koushiro's face, happy to have a new friend after the pain of his discovery.

"High. My name's-"

"You don't have to answer that!" An overbearing voice said.

Koushiro whirled around to see two blonde boys, one with spiky hair who was taller than the other.

"Just who do you think you are marching up to an innocent little boy while his parents aren't looking! How rude can you be just going up to poor little Koushiro, probably planning on stealing his lunch money like the kids at school."

The spike-headed blonde turned to Koushiro.

"Come on we're leaving."

As he was dragged away by the overbearing blond, Koushiro turned back to the dumbstruck Taichi, offering up a small smile.

Taichi busted into a huge grin and gave a little wink, giving promise they would see each other again.

&&&

Koushiro's window was struck by a sudden wave of sound causing it to crack. Koushiro bolted awake as if from a nightmare, while his dreams had only been filled with Taichi's face since they met a week ago. Koushiro had tried to talk to Taichi at the park, but he'd always been dragged away by Yamato, his blonde spike-headed friend who had protected him at school from any Bully who tried to prey on his passive demeanor.

Koushiro was usually grateful for Yamato's help, but sometimes he couldn't take his over-protectiveness.

Koushiiro thought all of this as he padded out to the window to see what was going on. He knew his parents wouldn't be awake, they could sleep through a hurricane. And therefore it stands to reason that they wouldn't try to stop him now.

Rubbing his sleepy eyes, Koushiro dragged a kitchen chair to the window for a better look and what he saw shocked him!

Standing at both ends of the street were a Giant Parrot covered in green and yellow fathers and a massive Orange Dinosaur. But what caught his attention more was Tai standing next to the Dinosaur with a little girl dressed in pink.

What the!? Right then, the parrot generated electricity between it's noticeable antennae

_Or whatever they are _He thought _It's a giant parrot monster after all_

The electricity from the bird sparked and crackled until it suddenly shot it into the Dinosaur's skull, shaking Hikarigaoka as if an earthquake had occurred.

Koushiro's shifted back to Taichi whose sad eyes were focused on the great dinosaur

_Please don't be sad. I can't handle those eyes being sad._

Koushiro's sight was suddenly blurred by something in his eyes.

The little redheaded boy took a finger to his eye and drew away something wet.

_Tears? Why am I-_

Koushiro's thoughts were interrupted by a whistling sound, which cut through the air like a knife. Koushiro looked up and saw the great dinosaur rising up, shaking the street as he stood, and releasing a great roar. Koushiro's face burst into a smile at the happiness in Taichi's eyes.

The great beast let loose a blast of white fire, which tore through the street, stripped away half the bricks and tile from Hikarigaoka. Koushiro wouldn't know as his eyes were focused on the parrot, which seemed to disintegrate on impact with the fire. Koushiro's eyes drifted back to Taichi. The dinosaur was gone and he felt his heart break as he listened to the brown-eyed boy cry deep into the morning…


	2. Prologue part 2

The clean mountain air was still and quiet. Nothing could be heard across the beautiful green landscape for miles. A single bluebird landed on the long winding road, when suddenly-

SQUAWK!!

The bird was chased away by a large gray bus carrying a batch of cheerful children to the camp at the top of the mountain. The angry bird flew off into the sky as a single snowflake fell to the ground. A snowflake that would bring over a dozen children to an abruptly ended vacation, and seven chosen children to a destiny greater than anything they could imagine.

**PROLOGUE PART 2**

The honey-eyed boy Taichi gazed out the bus window, feeling the ache of exhaustion from all the packing required. He counted the number of birds in the sky.

Ten.

Ten was the number of years since the move from hikarigaoka.

Ten was the number of times Taichi had been awakened by dreams of a small redheaded boy and an orange dinosaur.

Ten was the number of Psychiatrists his parents had sent him to before settling on this place, hoping the fresh mountain atmosphere would clear his head.

Taichi knew this was futile. A cluttered-head had nothing to do with this problem, despite his sister's accusations whenever he forgot something. No, it was a pair of penetrating black eyes and hair that was redder than fire. When he was younger he could suppress these "Dreams", but now they had somehow forced themselves to the surface and they seemed realer than ever. He couldn't even remember the name that belonged to those eyes, that hair, that pure white skin that was soft as silk on Taichi's lips.

Taichi sighed realizing these thoughts defeated the very purpose of him coming to this place. He decided he'd better check the time to see how long the bus drive would take. Suddenly he spotted a boy with suspiciously familiar red hair and a laptop.

_Maybe his laptop has a clock. Might as well ask._

Taichi got up from his seat, being careful of a redheaded girl who had taken the aisle seat next to him, and began moving towards the boy with the laptop.

&&&

While Taichi Yagami was watching the birds in the sky, Sora Takenouchi was watching him. He was quite possibly the most beautiful boy she had ever seen! And she'd seen some at her school, having dated and been dumped by them. That was why she was here. Ever since Sora had hit puberty, she'd been beating boys off with a stick, that is until they got to know her. She still remembered the names they'd call her, 'Snow Queen' or 'Frosty Bitch' were along the lines of insults they'd call her as they dumped her for apparently not acting enough 'Like a girl'.

_What, they've never met someone who's practical and not overly giddy before?_

Sora knew this was a chance to find love and escape the cold, icy demeanor she seemed to inherit from her mother.

_Who knows why someone cold as Ice has such a green thumb_ Sora thought bitterly

Sora was momentarily distracted from her thoughts as the honey-eyed boy she'd been staring at got up to leave. She noticed him talk to the redheaded boy for awhile, that is 'til the boy sat down.

_Good job, Sora! Your Ice queen routine scared him off before you even spoke to him!_

Sora couldn't deal with these thoughts anymore. She was just too tired. She let herself drift off to sleep only to be awakened by the sounds of sneakers stomping down the aisle. She looked up and saw a beautiful blonde, spike-headed boy storming towards the two boys she had been watching.

_HELLO SECOND CHANCE!_

&&&

Yamato Ishida was hopelessly, undeniably in love. He couldn't control it, and it burned the passion within him that he only spared for his music career. Yamato had agreed to come on this trip only because he wanted to be with his Izzy-Koi. Yamato had loved Koushiro Izumi ever since they first met in a park near Hikarigaoka. He had fallen in love with Koushiro's piercing black eyes and skin that could put the moon to shame in terms of pale beauty. They had wound up going to the same elementary school when they came of age and Yamato had protected Koushiro through school from the inevitable bullying that would come with being shy and intelligent. Like hell anyone was gonna touch HIS Izzy. He didn't care about the trail of bruised and bloody boys he had left behind. At age thirteen Yamato had cornered Koushiro in the locker room and revealed his feelings with a hard kiss that had resulted in their two-year relationship. Yamato was currently planning how to corner Izzy and bring their relationship to the next step.

Sex

Any girl who saw Yamato couldn't help but praise his image as the epitome of sex. He had the spiky bad-boy hair, he was well-endowed, and he was well-muscled, but not to a freakishly mutated Arnold Schwarzenegger degree. Yamato smiled as he watched Koushiro, letting his fantasies run wild, knowing tonight that he really was going to make Izzy-koi HIS. However this train of thought was broken, as a cholate-skinned boy with uncontrollable brown hair walked over to his Izzy-Koi.

_Who the Hell is He!?_

Yamato knew that this was probably just instinctive jealousy, but he couldn't help it. He knew the best thing was probably just to wait until the brown-haired boy went back to sit down. But as minutes wore on, he noticed that the Boy was not going back to his seat. In fact, he sat down NEXT to his Izzy-Koi!

_Control it. Just Control it!_

The Brown-haired boy suddenly slung an arm around Izzy-Koi's shoulders.

_THAT'S IT!_

Yamato got up from his seat, not noticing as his elbow hit his little brother in the eye. Nothing could stop Yamato when he was on the warpath, and this was just the kind of thing to set him off.

&&&

Koushiro Izumi was a quiet, timid teenage boy who had wanted with all his heart to come here. He couldn't live with it anymore. Keeping up with the pretense that he didn't know his parents had died in a horrible car crash was becoming too much, but he was being suffocated by his overprotective blonde boyfriend, Yamato. He felt like he was being crushed between these two large forces in his life and he just wanted his life to stop for one second, he wished desperately to be free. He had come all the way here to get away from the stress. But deep down, he feared he'd never be free. He'd always be a bird caged in Yamato's loving but overprotective embrace, and he'd never sing for the fear his parents would be heartbroken. He was bound and gagged. This renewed feeling of suffocation caused a tear in Koushiro's eye.

"Why are you crying?"

Koushiro Izumi looked up into the most beautiful brown eyes he'd seen in ten years.

_It couldn't be_

The brown-eyed boy took his gloved hand to Koushiro's cheek and wiped away his tear.

"Are you deaf or something?" the boy asked

"W-what?" Koushiro stuttered?

"Look, I just came over to ask the time-"

"Oh" Koushiro sighed

"-But I can see you obviously need someone to talk too. And, I'm a pretty good damn listener despite what my perfect little sister says, but EXCUSE ME if I don't wanna hear about how all her pint-sized little friends don't have dates because they're too hopped up on soda for people to know what they're saying!"

Koushiro laughed a little at that

"See?" The boy said grinning ear to ear, "Now there's a smile that could win an Oscar, without being all fake and frozen with plastic surgery."

Koushiro laughed even more

"S-S-Sorry!" Koushiro said catching his breath, "I don't have a lot of friends to make me laugh."

"Why not?" the Boy asked with genuine curiosity.

"Mainly because of my overprotective boyfriend. I don't really have a lot of friends because he wants me all to himself."

"That's horrible!" Taichi said in shock, "Well don't worry. 'Cause I'll be your friend."

"R-Really?" Koushiro said, a light of hoping beginning to glow in his heart.

"Sure!" Taichi said, draping an arm over Koushiro's shoulders.

"You'll see I can be an even better date than Yamato." Taichi leaned towards the boy's ear, "As long as you let me lead." He whispered suggestively in Koushiro's ear. Koushiro blushed.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING TO MY BOYFRIEND!?" an angry voiced asked.

_NO WAY! _Koushiro thought, hoping against all hope that his worst nightmare wasn't unfolding behind him.

A small frown crossed Taichi's chocolate covered lips as he stood up to face the source of the voice.

"And just who are you?" Taichi asked, his voice filling with indignation.

"Yamato Ishida!" The blonde-haired boy almost growled.

"Well my name's Taichi, and in the Alphabet I believe T comes before Y, so BACK OFF YOU BLONDE, BIG-MOUTHED BASTARD!"

Yamato was stunned for a second. Nobody had ever stood up to him before due to his bad-boy image, but luckily he had muscle to back it up.

"I don't have to, when some Shit-headed teenager is trying to steal my Izzy-Koi AWAY from me!" Yamato yelled back.

"Tsk Tsk Tsk, I can see why you have to cut off your so called 'Koibito' from other people. If he actually had any friends then he'd probably leave you for someone like me who actually knows how to treat people."

At that remark something snapped inside Yamato, who threw a punch straight at Taichi's face. Taichi ducked surprisingly quickly with Yamato's arm only grazing Taichi's hair.

"Too slow Stalker boy!" Taichi said exuberantly as he punched Yamato right in the crotch.

"That is enough!" Mr. Fujiyama, Taichi's teacher during the school year, said walking up to the two. "Mr. Ishida back to your seat, now!"

"B-b-b-but" Yamato said stammering

"NOW!"

Yamato stormed back to his seat, seething with jealousy.

Mr. Fujiyama turned to Koushiro. "Mr. Izumi please keep an eye on this knucklehead. Make sure he stays in his seat.

"Yes!" Koushiro said alert.

"Well, that sucked." Taichi said sitting back next to Koushiro.

"So let's have some proper introductions. My name's Taichi Yagami. And yours?"

"Koushiro Izumi."

Taichi's face froze as a sudden thought seemed to strike him.

"You okay?" Koushiro asked worried.

"Y-Yeah! Fine! It's good to meet you Koushiro."

_Not as good as it is to meet you, and to finally have a friend_

&&&

"What's going on up there?" Mimi Tachikawa asked her friend Taako

"I don't know. Based on my experience, most boys are idiots." Taako replied.

Mimi couldn't say she disagreed. She'd had an unlucky streak when it came to the opposite sex. But with all the love her parents gave her it was almost impossible for her to be unhappy. She just couldn't stop looking on the brighter side of things. Being optimistic about a crappy love life was better than being one of those pessimists who lock themselves in their room and sleep 12 hours because of ONE bad date. It was always better to be positive.

"So where are we headed again?" Mimi asked

"To one of those places in the mountain where companies get all that naturally made herbal tea."

Mimi laughed hard at that.

"I swear, Taako, sometimes I think you've got MY hair!"

"Shut up!" Taako said jokingly, "At least I'm not crushing hard on a bookworm!"

"Am not!" Mimi giggled girlishly, "I just said he's cute is all."

"Honestly Mimi, you could have any guy in the school! Why do you always go for the smart ones?" Taako asked curiously.

"Maybe I like a challenge."

They both laughed, glad that if the campsite sucked they could at least count on each other

&&&

Yamato stormed back to his seat and plopped down next Takeru Takaishi, his little brother.

_I HATE Koushiro Izumi_ he thought angrily, which wasn't too different from his usual train of thought. Ever since he was little, Takeru had stuck by his brother out of adoration and unconditional love. They had been inseperable for his first few years of life. Then Yamato had met HIM. Koushiro Izumi, the bane of his existence. It wasn't really fair for Takeru to hate Koushiro. It wasn't actually HIS fault, in fact, Takeru could tell that Koushiro himself was uncomfortable with the protectiveness that Yamato lavished on him. But without the obstacle of Koushiro in the way, Takeru would have more of his brother's attention, he'd actually be NOTICED, instead of being treated like an accessory. Takeru had come on this trip hoping to actually get some time to bond with his brother, but to no avail, this had always been about Koushiro all along, Yamato's precious Izzy-koi, who Yamato was completely focused on twenty-four seven.

_I HATE YOU IZZY! YOU WON'T BE WINNING OUT AGAINST ME THIS TIME!_

&&&

Jyou Kido glanced over at Mimi Tachikawa who was laughing and talking with the girl who seemed to be her best friend. With nothing better to do, the responsible teenager had summed up pretty much everyone one on the bus, and he'd picked those he considered the most intriguing:

_Taichi Yagami-A supposed head case who didn't seem remotely crazy or sick._

_Sora Takenouchi-A tough tomboy with relationship issues_

_Yamato Ishida-_

Jyou stopped himself right there. He'd developed a crush on Yamato, one who seemed so dangerous compared to him, who was far more conservative and cautious. But, it couldn't be helped. Yamato was seeing the redheaded boy. The dangerous-looking blonde stormed back and sat down next to his brother who shot Koushiro a look of resentment.

_This is going to be an interesting vacation_

(End of Jyou P.O.V.)

And interesting it was, as it turned out to be a vacation that none of them would ever forget…


	3. 7 Shadows, One Light

_What am I doing here? I don't want to be here. I didn't come to be ignored and forgotten all over again. I only came for Onii-chan, and now I'm just some kid stuck on a bus with 2 dozen hormonal teenagers headed for a camp riddled with wild animals, poison ivy and camp counseling pedophiles. I just want to go home and pretend I have a brother who actually gives a damn about me!_

Takeru looked up at his brother who still couldn't take his eyes off of Koushiro and the brown-eyed kid with the weird hair. If Yamato had looked down he would have seen a little boy with eyes that thinly hid resentment and desperation. But alas, Takeru knew this would probably never happen.

Takeru looked down at his hands trying desperately not to look at his oblivious brother, and fighting the tears that were welling up inside him.

_What am I doing here?_

**Chapter one**

Koushiro looked back towards his new sleeping friend.

_Taichi Yagami_

The redheaded boy was so thankful to finally have a friend. He had learned a lot about Taichi on the ride up to camp. Taichi Yagami was on the Soccer Team, he had a little sister named Hikari, and he had been plagued by strange dreams, which was his reason for coming up to the camp. Koushiro thought he'd said something about orange dinosaurs and piercing eyes, but at that point he had stopped really listening, just happy to hear the sound of his voice. The sound of a friend, one who seemed to have more enthusiasm and charisma than anyone he'd ever met. Taichi had instantly struck him as someone who was fierce and loyal to the people he'd cared about. Something he'd learned already when Taichi stood up to Yamato for him. He remembered the words that had sparked the argument. "You'll see I can be an even better date than Yamato" Taichi had said, "As long as you let me lead."

Koushiro blushed again at his suggestive words. But this line of thought brought a string of worries about how he'd deal with Yamato when they got to camp.

_I'll be fine as long as I have someone to back me up_

Koushiro thought looking at Taichi.

The redheaded boy crashed face forward into the seat, along with his now completely awake brown-eyed friend.

The Bus had stopped.

&&&

Finally the bus had stopped. Now Yamato could properly address the earlier argument with his Izzy-Koi. He couldn't believe what had happened. That brown-eyed boy had damaged and humiliated Yamato and Koushiro had just sat there like a deer in the headlights. Yamato prepared himself to jump up as soon as his name was called. He wanted to confront Izzy as soon as possible.

_I'll make sure his eye never wanders again, tonight when his ass is mine._

"Ishida, Yamato!" the Counselor rattled off.

_Finally!_

Yamato got up to leave, shooting Koushiro a smoldering look as he passed, just for good measure.

Once Yamato was out of the bus, he wandered over towards the woods and waited against a tree for Koushiro to leave the bus.

And pretty soon, sure enough, walking off of the bus was a redhead who seemed deep in personal thought.

&&&

A pang of fear struck Koushirou as Yamato walked by. He no doubt wanted to discuss what happened earlier.

_Crap_

"Hey Izzy"

Koushiro turned to face his new chocolate-eyed friend

"You're worried." He said matter-of-factly

"How'd you know?" Koushiro asked with genuine curiosity.

"Hello!?" Tai said jokingly, "You're anime sweat-dropping all over the place!"

"Oh. Sorry." Koushiro said apologetically

"Hey Izzy?" Taichi asked

"What?"

"Don't worry. You've got me to back you up now. After all, people like us without that many friends need to stick together."

"You don't have many friends?" Koushiro asked, stunned

"You'd be surprised how many people are repelled when you're crazy." Taichi said grinning

"Taichi" Koushiro said laughing, "You're insane."

"My point exactly."

"Izumi, Koushiro!" the Councilor rattled off

"Looks like I'd better get going. Meet up later?" Koushiro asked nervously

"You know it!" Taichi shouted, never losing that crazy grin.

Koushiro got up and left the bus smiling, that is until he saw Yamato leaning against a tree, his blue eyes staring intently.

_Oh crap!_

Almost immediately, Koushiro took off running as fast as his legs could take him. Of course Yamato had already started running and factoring in his relatively longer legs-

"OOF!"

Yamato pounced on Koushiro, bringing him to the ground. For a moment Koushiro was dizzy and disoriented, but then he realized he was on the ground. Suddenly he felt an arm snake around his waist and a thumb begin to stroke his cheek lovingly.

"Whatcha doin'" Yamato purred playfully

"Trying to avoid this." Koushiro shot back bitterly

"Why fight it? Just give in." Yamato licked the redhead's ear-lobe, causing a blush to flash over his face.

"How 'bout you just get off?" Koushiro asked adamantly

"Fine. Have it your way. This isn't what I wanted to talk about right now anyway." Yamato replied, releasing Koushiro from his busy hands.

"Then what is it you wanted to talk about?" Koushiro asked composing himself

"I just wanted to let you know I forgive you." Yamato said

"Oh, really? Thanks. Wait! For what?" Koushiro didn't know what he meant

"Well, for starters, not standing up for me on the bus, running from me just now, and not telling that guy, who so obviously wanted to screw you to the wall, to back off!" Yamato stated indignantly

"Wait, you mean Taichi? He's just a friend!" Koushiro stated angrily

"You don't need any friends! You have me." Yamato spat back

"You can't tell me who I can and can't make friends with, or even if I can have friends! You don't own me!"

"Yes I do." Yamato stated matter-of-factly

"W-What!?" Koushiro replied in shock

"You heard me. I own you. You're mine. You belong to me and only me. Remember that." Yamato said, pulling the shorter Koushiro up towards his face for a kiss.

"N-NO!" Koushiro said as he pushed Yamato onto the ground.

Yamato looked up into Koushiro's face and saw the pain and fear in his eyes.

"Izzy-Koi, I-I" Yamato stammered suddenly filled with remorse for his actions

The redhead boy darted off to the woods even faster than he was running before

_Don't let him see you cry, Don't let him see you cry_

Koushiro rubbed at his eyes with his sleeve as he ran even deeper into the woods

_I can't take it any more_

"OOF!" Koushiro cried out the second time as he ran into something

&&&

After being dismissed from the bus, Taichi yagami had taken a hike to help him think about what had happened. He was now leaning against a tree thinking about the boy he'd met.

_Koushiro Izumi_

Could it be? Could he be the boy whose red hair and piercing black eyes haunted his dreams? If so, what would he do with this information? Would the dreams disappear? It looked like that hike wasn't helping any. Maybe he should just go back-

"OOF!" A voice said as something hit Taichi hard, knocking him to the ground.

"Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow…What the Hell happened?" Taichi asked in confusion.

"I'm sorry" the pained voice said.

Taichi immediately recognized that voice.

"Koushiro!" Taich said with a grin…that is until he saw Koushiro's face. His cheeks were covered with tears and there was a penetrating look of hurt and fear in his eyes.

"Koushiro" he said more solemnly, "What happened?"

"I can't take it anymore!" the Redhead shouted

"Can't take what?" Taichi asked thoughtfully

"Yamato! I can't take his jealousy, his possessiveness, his over-protectiveness anymore! I feel like I wanna die!" Koushiro said, tears starting to flow more freely.

"Don't do that! Just tell your parents and-"

"My parents are dead" Koushiro cut Taichi off

"What!?"

"Yeah, they're dead! And my so-called parents don't even know that I know, 'cause if I told them it'd break their hearts. I hate my boyfriend and I wish for a lie! God, I'm so screwed up I must be broken!" there was no shortage of tears and sniffles now as Koushiro unbottled his emotions.

He was in so much agony, he didn't notice Taichi until he put a silencing finger to his pale moon-colored lips.

"Shh"

The silenced Koushirou looked up

"You're not broken"

Taichi removed his finger from Koushiro's lips and placed it under his chin, tilting it upward

Taichi's soft lips met Koushirou's and for the first time in years, Koushiro felt tears of joy well up in his eyes.

&&&

Sora Takenouchi got off the bus after a long drive and finally stretched her legs. It always felt good for some reason, she didn't know.

_Okay! Now to start my Anti-Ice Queen Operation!_

Sora began scouting the groups of kids that had formed after leaving the bus. Sora scouted the groups, and then her eyes landed on a girl with a cheerful face sporting blonde hair and a cowboy hat.

_How very…American _Sora thought to herself _No! No, I won't be deterred_

Sora began to walk towards the blonde girl, plastering a broad smile across her face

_I'm doing it! I'm really doing it! I'll show everyone at home I'm not an ice queen_

Sora was so focused on this thought, however, she stopped looking where she was going and the nest thing she knew, all she saw was gray.

&&&

Riding the bus was a bitch! Being locked up in a tin can, filled with an unnecessary heat by a half-deaf bus driver only added to an experience which included 3 guys and 1 girl making passes at her, none of them meeting her standards (especially not the girl), not to mention an obnoxious teacher named Mr. Fujiyama trying to recapture his youth by being "One of the kids". Of course, Mimi Tachikawa would never complain out loud. It was unladylike. Besides, she was having way too much fun with her friend Taako to be unhappy, they had gotten off the bus and were now looking forward to an extremely relaxing vacation. Mimi seemed to have a great life! A best friend, good parents, and money to burn! Could things get any better?

"So do you think you'll meet the right guy on this trip, Mimi?" Taako asks teasingly

"I'm starting to lose hope" Mimi admitted, "After all those rejects on the bus-"

"Wait! I think I saw a cute redhead on the bus!"

"You mean that girl in the jeans? Why Taako, I guess I'm glad I'm not your type." Mimi giggled

"No! Jeez, looks you've already earned back that blonde hear. I mean the short one with the computer?"

"Oh yeah!" Mimi said remembering

"Plus he fits your penchant for smart guys" Taako added

"You're right. I guess I'll be looking out for him." Mimi winked

"Now, what should we do fir-" Mimi began, but she was cut off by an odd gravelly sound.

Mimi looked to her left and saw the redhead in jeans, half of her being hidden by about 100,000 thousand tiny rocks.

"Oh My God!" Mimi cried out worried, rushing to the side of the redhead

"Are you okay?" Mimi asked, concerned

The redhead lifted her head up and spit out a few rocks.

"I'm fine, just a little dizzy" The redhead said

"What's your name?" Taako asked.

"Sora"

Taako suddenly busted out laughing at Sora

"What's so damn funny?" Sora asked, a bit of anger dripping into her voice.

_Not Good_ Mimi thought

"Oh nothing. But you sure Sora'd into those rocks!"

Mimi looked on as Sora clenched her fists in growing anger, while Taako laughed increasingly harder.

"Listen," Sora said, "If you keep laughing then I might just take that expensive handbag and shove it up your-"

"Okay!" Mimi said, cutting in "Sora, why don't you and I take a hike, let you cool down, and Taako, I'll meet you back here in about 10 minutes. 'Kay?"

Mimi took Sora by the arm and began leading her toward the forest.

"So, your name's Sora? I'm Mimi Tachikawa! Nice to meet you!"

&&&

_Damn you Koushiro. You're not gonna win this time_

At this point Takeru was getting desperate, Yamato was his only option for a good vacation. But it sure sucked having your name called last. Why couldn't they just let everyone go at once? Seriously. He was small and wiry, it'd be easy for him to maneuver all these taller kids and escape. But he definitely wanted to escape this idiot teacher who kept trying to hang out with him.

_Mr. Fujiyama, I think his name was? _

"Taikashi, Takeru" the annoying teacher called out.

_Finally!_

As Takeru walked by Mr. Fujiyama, the annoying teacher ruffled what little hair was under his hat and said, "See you later champ!"

_Not if I hide like a kid locked in Michael Jackson's Amusement Park_

Takeru stepped off the bus and scanned the area, walking around until saw a head of red hair running into the woods and his brother sitting on the ground.

"Onii-chaan!" Yamato shouted, running towards his brother "Are you okay?"

Yamato shook his head, as if trying to shake off a state of confusion, "Koushiro!"

_Oh great, him again_

Yamato got up and began moving towards the forest to follow him. Takeru latched himself to his brother's arm, "Wait, come on Onii-chan, you don't need him! Please stay!"

"No! Let go of me! I have to find him!" Yamato shook Takeru off of his arm and ran off into the woods to find his precious redhead. Takeru just sat on the cold ground fighting back tears caused by this fresh rejection and then after about five minutes of pondering, decided he'd rather get mad and followed Yamato into the woods.

&&&

_I've got to be the worst boyfriend in the world. I'm worse than scum, some scum actually help people. I'm like-AAH! Ah! Oh God! That feels so-AAH!_

Taichi Yagami was in a lip-lock with Izumi Koushiro, which had been going for about 5 minutes now. Taichi had begun to lick Koushiro's lower lip tentatively, causing Koushiro's mouth to open in an audible moan. An evil grin crossed Taichi's face as he slipped his Tongue completely into Koushiro, probing him. Tasting him. Koushiro had never known a kiss could be like this. Whenever he had kissed Yamato, he was always rough. But Taichi was being…gentle. He was actually enjoying this.

_No! I shouldn't be enjoying this! This is so wrong!_

"_No, what he said is wrong."_ A voice said somewhere in the izumi boy's head

Koushirou thought back to his fight with Yamato.

"_You belong to me and only me"_

Koushiro remembered how much those words had scared him. But he wasn't sure Yamato's insecurities were enough reason to break up with him. He had known Yamato for years and JUST met this brown-haired boy. But he felt like he did know Taichi somehow. Or maybe he didn't. It was irrelevant right now, 'cause he finally felt happy and Yamato wasn't going to ruin this for him.

Koushiro began returning the kiss, actively, by sucking on Taichi's tongue. Taichi moaned into his mouth, and the corners of the red head's mouth turned upward.

&&&

Damn it! Where is he?

Yamato had entered the woods and was now looking for his redheaded lover. Yamato couldn't understand how he'd pushed Koushiro away. Pretty much every girl in his high school just wanted to be loved and protected, and that was just what he'd offered. Every time he'd followed Koushiro, every time he'd looked in his planner, it was out of love and protectiveness. Why couldn't he understand?

_Tonight I'll show him how much I love him._

Yamato suddenly spotted a patch of red hair and moved closer, realizing it was Koushiro he began running towards him.

"Koushiro! I-"

Yamato tripped over a log, landing squarely on the ground.

"Ow" Yamato muttered in pain, as he pulled his dirt-caked face up to look at Koushirou.

_Wait a minute. What is he-_

"No!" Yamato growled angrily as he realized Koushiro was in a lip-lock with that Douchebag from the bus. One thought crossed Yamato's frenzied mind.

_They're dead_

However his mind, had it not been filling with anger and pain, would've noticed the sudden lights in the sky, or the falling snow.

&&&

"Jyou Kido!" Mr. Fujiyama called.

The blue-haired boy in glasses ran up.

"Yes sir?"

"Six teenagers were seen entering the woods, and they still haven't come back."

"And, sir?"

"It's snowing, and the camp won't accept liability if anything happens. We need you to go and bring them back safely. Understood?"

"Understood. I'll bring them back quickly."

"Good man." Fujiyama said patting Jyou's back as he ran off towards the woods.

Once Jyou entered the woods, he only had to spent 5 minutes before he spotted a redhead in a lip-lock with a brown-haired boy. Jyou knew Fujiyama had picked him for this 'cause he'd been in boy scouts and was a far better tracker. Jyou approached the two oblivious boys, who identified as Taichi Yagami and Koushiro Izumi, when suddenly he heard a loud whistling device. Jyou looked up and saw 7 unidentifiable red lights soaring down towards the clearing. The last thing he saw was a little boy in a green hat watching Izumi and Yagami, a blonde and a redheaded girl walking by, and his angry blonde crush storming into the clearing, huffing and puffing. And then his senses were flooded by the most beautiful flash of Golden light…

* * *

Okay! Finally an update! Sorry to make you wait! I'll have my next chapter up as soon as I can, considering school's back this week!


	4. Down the DigiHole

"Taichi."

"TAICHI!"

Taichi Yagami's eyes fluttered open, his vision slightly blurred as he awoke.

"I'm Okay," he muttered

Taichi blinked twice to get rid of the blurriness, and his clear vision found a pair of large red eyes, which blinked twice in response.

"Huh?" Taichi, asked confused…until he saw these eyes were attached to a pink soccerball-like body with long floppy eyes.

_WHAT THE HELL?_

Taichi Screamed in fear, which wasn't often, backing away at Super anime speed.

"Taichi, you're awake!" the pink soccer-ball said bouncing towards him, "That's great, That's great, that's GREAT!"

Taichi could only watch with a stunned expression, "I-It's talking! It knows my name!"

The pink soccer-ball continued jumping around, eventually jumping into Taichi's hands.

"Wh-Wh-Who are you?" Taichi asked half curious and half scared out of his mind.

"I'm Koromon!", it said "I've been waiting for you Taichi!!"

"Koromon…?" The name played across Taichi's lips, "You were…waiting for me?"

"Yeah!" it said nodding.

This was just too weird. Taichi was reminded of an American movie he saw, something called the Matrix. He sort of stopped in the middle because of the terrible acting and dialogue.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He asked incredulously, "Besides, how do you even know my name!?"

"Taichi-san!" a familiar voice said

A smile slowly crossed Taichi's face as he remembered his new redheaded friend

_Mmm…He tastes like Strawberries_

In the end, Taichi decided he had to play it cool.

"Oh, Koushiro!" He said turning around.

**Chapter 2**

"Thank goodness! I thought I was all alone here." Koushiro said, panicked

"Well then it's a good thing you've got me," Taichi said aloof

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Whatever you want it to mean," Taichi said moving closer to Koushiro

Koushiro backed away slightly. He knew Taichi wanted a repeat of what happened at camp, but Koushiro knew he couldn't do anything while he was still unsure of his own feelings towards Taichi and Yamato.

"Uh…Taichi," Koushiro began, unsure of himself.

"Don't worry Koushiro! I'll protect you!" a high-pitched voice called out.

Tai looked around for the source of the voice.

"What the Hell?," He wondered aloud, when suddenly a pink blob seemed to jump out of the bushes.

"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" it called as it hit Taichi square in the face, latching onto him.

Koushiro watched Taichi's comical struggle with the pink blob a few minutes before he managed to rip it off his face. Taichi stared in bewilderment at the pink blob squirming in his hand.

"What the Hell is this thing?" He wondered aloud

"My name's MOTIMON!" It shouted indignant, "Let me go! I won't let you hurt Koushiro!"

Tai was quiet for a moment…before he flat out busted into laughter.

"HA HA HA HA HA! You think I want to hurt Koushiro? Well let me tell you, buddy, you don't have to worry about me hurting Koushiro. IN FACT I really like him." Tachi said, suggestively aiming this last comment towards to Koushiro, who blushed.

"Oh. Sorry." The little pink blob said apologetically, after stopping his squirming.

"Don't worry. It's all cool." Said Taichi

"Now. Where are we, exactly?" Taichi asked Motimon.

"We're on File Island!" the blob answered enthusiastically

"File…Island? Koushiro?" Taichi deferred to the redhead, "Is that in Japan?"

"Not that I know of. Perhaps we'd get an idea if you scaled a tree and got a better look?"

"Good Idea! And I've got just the thing," Taichi agreed pulling out a small telescope.

"Wow! Just how much can you fit in your pants?" Koushiro asked in amazement

"Wouldn't you like to know." Taichi said shooting Koushiro another suggestive look, before he began his climb up the nearest tree.

Koushiro caught himself looking admiringly as Taichi started to climb the tree, but then caught himself when he felt blood rushing to a certain area.

_No! No! I can't let Anything else happen until I talk to Yamato! It wouldn't be fair after all this time._

Suddenly Koushiro heard the oddest sound. Like buzzing, he thought.

"Hey! Taichi! Be careful! I think there might be a bee near you!"

"You got it!" Taichi answered scanning the area before continuing his climb.

Koushiro then heard the buzzing again. It seemed to be getting louder. What was it? Koushiro determined the source of the increasing buzz and turned accordingly, realizing it was coming from a small patch of trees. Crashing sounds were now added to the buzzing. What could it be? The only thing he knew big enough to knock down trees was an Elephant.

_But Elephants don't buzz…_

What could it-

Koushiro's thought was interrupted as something large and red busted through the trees, forcing him to tumble forward to avoid it's path.

_What is that?_

Koushiro's head was swirling and he didn't know what was happening.

A scream cut through his state of confusion and he stood up, clearing his head. He glanced over and saw Taichi on the ground with a pained look on his face and a broken tree trunk on his arm. The red object, whatever it was, must've cut through it but it appeared to be gone now. Koushiro ran over to Taichi to make sure he wasn't seriously injured.

"Taichi! Are you ok?"

"Yeah." Taichi said, wincing slightly. "Don't worry. My awesomeness must've scared it off. It was definitely barking up the wrong tree."

Koushiro laughed at Taichi, amazed he was still keeping up his bravado despite his obvious pain.

_Is it so I won't worry?_

Koushiro couldn't help but notice that he was laughing and smiling again. He was happy. Why didn't Yamato make him feel like this? Of course Koushiro didn't get to ponder this because a very serious look crossed Taichi's face. Koushiro turned to see what he was looking at and spotted a giant red beetle-like creature flying straight towards them. The red object.

"Tai, let's-"

Taichi grabbed Koushiro's wrist and took off running with the 2 pink creatures hanging close behind, along with the large red creature unfortunately.

Koushiro and Taichi were getting deeper into the forest, where everything was getting darker. But Koushiro knew the beetle-like creature was still following because of the buzzing. But Koushiro felt himself getting tired and he knew he wouldn't be able to run much longer.

"Taichi," 'Gasp' "I don't think" 'Gasp' "I can run much longer."

"Just hang on!" 'Gasp' "We have to lose it!"

"I know a way!" The pink blob motimon said.

"How!?" Koushiro and Taichi asked in unison.

"Like this!" Motimon said, and then he did something very strange: He jumped up and knocked Koushiro and Taichi towards a tree.

Koushiro closed his eyes and prepared for the impact, but all he felt himself crash against was Tai.

Koushiro opened his eyes and all he saw was Taichi, the two small pink creatures, and a large wall of metal that seemed to surround them.

"Uh…Where are we?" The red-head asked in obvious confusion.

"We ducked inside a tree to escape that red beetle thingy." Taichi answered, "Jeez, and you're supposed to be the smart one."

"Oh," Koushiro's face reddened, 'cause he probably would've realized it after a minute. But something was still bothered him.

"Uh, Taichi?"

"Yeah?"

"Just what was that 'red beetle thingy'?"

"Oh. I don't know. Hey Koromon! What was that thing? Come to think of it, what are you? And what is that pink blobby thing?"

"Don't call me a blob!" a voice said.

Koushiro's eyes followed the outraged voice and spotted the blob, still shaking, clinging to Koromon. Koushiro chuckled slightly at the sight.

"That thing was Kuwagamon and we're all digimon." Koromon answered

"Digi…Mon?" Taichi couldn't quite grasp it

"Yeah!" Koromon was grinning, "We're the creatures that live here!"

"Now if only we knew where 'Here' was." An odd look crossed Taichi's face "Wow Koushiro, you must really like me."

Koushiro suddenly noticed that he was pressed up against Taichi's hard muscled body. There wasn't exactly a lot of room to move.

"Uh, maybe I should move-"

"No, Don't." Taichi said silencing Koushiro "You're perfect just the way you are." Taichi said very seriously.

The nervous redheaded boy then felt a pair of strong arms wrap around him in the darkness, and a pair of wet lips on his. He was trapped. It's not like he could get out with Kuwagamon running around. And then, he just didn't care anymore, losing himself in this feeling of warmth and intimacy that not even Yamato could give him. Koushiro began to respond, kissing Taichi back.

The two teenagers were oblivious to the fact that the two pink creatures were watching him.

"Hey Motimon," Koushiro asked

"What?" the blob answered

"Why is Taichi trying to eat Koushiro?"

"I don't know. But seeing as Koushiro's trying to eat him too, there's not a lot I can do."

"MIMI! MIMI!"

The two fell out of the tree out of surprise, and Taichi found himself staring into the eyes of one very surprised redhead.

And then, in very Taichi fashion, with a huge grin on his face, he said:

"Hi! I'm Taichi! Who the Hell are you?"

&&&

Taichi walked through the forest with Koushiro and the girl whose name they learned was Sora, who was sporting a pink plant-shaped creature to match the ones that seemed to be following them. Apparently she was woke up after seeing seven lights and she didn't really remember anything after that.

Damn Her!

Taichi didn't really blame her, but him and Koushiro had really been getting good. He didn't really even know what this feeling was but he knew to things for certain: 1. He felt something towards Koushiro that was definitely more than just friendly camaraderie, and 2. He wanted to protect him from Yamato. He would figure the rest out later, but this was the best he could do for now. Especially considering the current circumstances of no food, no water, and a strange land filled with flying monsters and holographic make-out trees.

Taichi blushed at this thought.

Maybe if he didn't know exactly how he felt then it wouldn't be good to just randomly kiss Koushiro like that. But he looked really beautiful in the little light reflecting off the metal, and his friends and family would tell you he was fairly impulsive. And trying to sort out the consequences of said impulses wouldn't be easy.

Taichi had never really thought about whether he was gay or straight. When there was a girl he liked, he asked her out. When there was a guy he liked, he asked him out. He just liked whom he liked. And right now, he liked Koushiro. OKAY! Maybe a LITTLE bit more than just liked. He'd be sure to address it later when they were absolutely alone, which included no annoying commentary from little pink monsters about him wanting to eat Koushiro…which wasn't too far off.

"YOW!" Koushiro suddenly shouted out.

Taichi whirled around and spotted a little white soccer-ball with razor-sharp teeth rolling away from the redhead.

&&&

Koushiro crumpled to the ground, clutching his side in pain.

Takeru ran up to the three teens with a concerned look on his face, but he was really smiling on the inside. He had told his new friend he thought he heard something and told him to check it out, when really he was hoping to take the redhead down a peg.

"Are you okay?" the little blonde boy asked putting on his best innocent face.

"Yeah, I'll be just fine little buddy." Koushiro said, wincing in pain that Takeru was relishing in, "It's not your fault."

A smile crossed Takeru's face. Everyone probably thought he was relieved, but it was really his sense of satisfaction that he got away with it.

The brown-haired boy ran over and helped Koushiro up.

Takeru's eyes went back to his little white friend from earlier, who was joining a group of pink creatures that looked like something out of a teenage girl's bedroom.

"So who are you guys?" the little blonde boy asked.

"I'm Sora," the red-headed girl said crouching down to speak to him.

"And I'm Taichi! I'm the fun one," the brown-haired boy said.

"Hi! I'm Takeru! You might know my Onii-chan, his name is-"

"-Yamato" Koushiro said, interrupting him.

"Yeah!" Takeru said, hiding his resentment for the red-headed boy.

"No. Yamato!" Koushiro shouted pointing behind him.

Takeru turned behind him and saw Yamato, accompanied by a girl in a large pink cowboy hat and a blue-haired boy in glasses. And of course they had their own creatures with them, one was some gray thing with flippers, another was a small green-shrub-shaped thing, and the last was an orange sphere with eyes and a horn out of it's head.

But the weirdest sight was the thing chasing them, a large red beetle. Takeru's resentment was immediately replaced by a fear for his brother's life.

_NO! You can't die…_

Takeru didn't notice as something in his chest began to glow.

&&&

The Red beetle Kuwagamon struck the ground with his massive armored jaws. He could probably eat an entire horse.

"MIMI!" The red-head Sora called out in a voice so loud it hurt Taichi's ears. Taichi took a hand and hit it against his head to make sure he was deaf.

Suddenly the girl in the pink cowboy hat looked up and called, "SORA!"

It was obvious to even Taichi that they knew each other. The Red beetle's Pincers were still stuck in the ground and it was close to breaking free.

"You guys had better move if you don't wanna be beetle food!" Taichi called

Taichi watched as the three teens were still fighting past their confusion to get up and move. Oh Crap. He was gonna have to help them move. Taichi charged forward running to help them up. Damn, it sucked being a good Samaritan. Taich grabbed the arm of the boy in glasses, since he wanted to avoid a re-encounter with the seemingly crazy blonde from the bus. He noticed that Sora was helping the girl in the cowboy hat and that Yamato was running driven by the sight of Koushiro. That'd teach Taichi to let his guard down.

Taichi was gripping the wrist of the nerdy boy, practically dragging him in an effort to beat Yamato to Koushiro when he suddenly noticed something was missing.

"Koromon!" Taichi was looking around frantically for his little pink friend, when he turned his eyes back to the Red Beetle, which was now free and facing seven pint-sized creatures, Koromon among them.

"Koromon, get out of there you idiot!"

Koromon turned to face him.

"I must protect Taichi," he said.

Tai's face softened, "But…you'll die.", He said

"Even If that happens, I will protect you!"

Koromon turned back around and leapt towards the beetle, shooting an ineffectual stream of pink bubbles. It only seemed to piss Kuwagamon off, causing him to swing his pincers wildly until they caught Koromon.

"NO, KOROMON!" Tai cried out, feeling fire building under his skin. Taichi hadn't noticed 'til now but his heart was glowing with an orange star-shaped symbol.

"What the!?" He said looking down,

A golden beam of light shot out of his heart and hit Koromon, seeming to bounce off of him and hit Taichi's hand. Taichi felt a burning feeling and opened it to find a small electronic device with three buttons and a tiny screen. Taichi glanced back up and watched as the same thing happened to the six other creatures, and then, something unbelievable happened! They seemed to be getting bigger!

In a golden flash of light, Koromon transformed into a small orange dinosaur with green eyes. He was scared to look at the other ones if he reacted to Koromon like this.

But something even crazier started happening! All the Digimon were throwing fire and electricity.

"AIR SHOT!"

"PETITE FIRE!"

"PETITE THUNDER!"

"MAGICAL FIRE!"

"BABY FLAME!"

The creatures combined their attacks, setting the huge beetle on fire. Kuwagamon let out a roar and fell back into the woods.

For a second, Taichi was stunned, but only for a second.

"Koromon! OHMYGOD! YOU'RE ALIVE! AND YOU KICKED THAT BEETLE'S ASS!"

Taichi was laughing hysterically as he wrapped his arms around the orange dinosaur, which had run up to meet him. He couldn't believe it! They had WON! They had WON! Taichi was so happy. But then he began to hear a familiar buzzing sound. No Way.

The last sensations Taichi knew were the feel of the ground, as it shook, the sight of the Beetle monster Kuwagamon smashing a section of ground and the smell of the river they were now falling towards.

* * *

Hi! Hope you enjoyed! I'll have more up soon, 'kay? And just to clarify, those devices were Digivices.


	5. I Fall To Pieces And Can't Pick Them Up

Jyou kido's life was getting increasingly weirder and weirder! Seriously, it was like being inside an episode of the Twilight Zone!

One second he's normal, likable, reliable Jyou! The Guy everyone could rely on. And he'd always followed this policy of being helpful and reliable. He'd been the class helper in Kindergarten, Hall Monitor in elementary school, and Class president in middle school.

Every day and night he'd followed this way of life, and that's all he'd been doing when it happened. He'd been looking to keep some of the kids from getting frostbitten by snow and then BAM!

A flash of golden light sucks him into some kind of Bizarro land with a little gray monster that had now been turned into a seal with spiky red hair!

Jyou watched as some kind red beetle fought six other monsters that seemed to be paired with the very kids he'd been looking for.

Jyou covered his ears as the attacking monsters laid one final blow with their mysterious powers that resulted in a resounding boom.

He was so scared he hadn't bothered to open his eyes…that is until he was somehow now free-falling towards his water grave.

Looks like his weird life was coming to an end.

**Chapter 3**

CRAP, CRAP, CRAP, CRAP, CRAP, CRAP!

Mimi was falling towards the raging water below. Needless to say, Mimi usually bit her tongue from saying things that were un-ladylike, but on this specific occasion…

"OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD! I DON'T WANNA DIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! OH GOD, PLEASE SOMEBODY MAKE THIS DAMN NIGHTMARE STOOOOOOOOOOP!"

This was unbelievable! Mimi was stuck in another world with a bunch of strangers and monsters she barely knew and now it was over. Everything was over.

She would never go to the mall again. She would never kiss a boy again. OH GOD! She would never see Taako again!

Her best friend

She couldn't let it end this way.

Mimi turned to her now-considerably-larger plant-like friend.

"Tanemon, can you do something?"

"It's Palmon now." The plant answered, "I'll try."

The Plant looked upwards toward the cliff.

"POISON IVY!" the plant called

And then Palmon's fingernails shout out of her hands like something out of Ripley's. Mimi had been watching too much American TV.

Mimi watched with a mixture of fear and wonder as the fingernails stuck into the cliff.

YES! She was saved.

Sadly, this only made things worse, as a large rock was pulled out of the wall and began falling towards them.

GREAT! Now she was stuck between a rock and an EXTREMELY WET PLACE!

&&&

_Koushiro! My Sweet Koushiro. Is this the last time I'll see you?_

Yamato thought as he stared at the falling redhead. He couldn't believe it was ending like this. The last thing he remembered was being on the bus staring at Koushiro.

AND THEN! He finds himself waking up to a big gray rock, a bump on his head and an orange soccer ball with eyes and a horn that could probably slice through anything he and his dad ate.

Well, he guessed it was some kind of dog now after that weird light had shot out of his chest. What the hell was that?

Yamato had something in his hand that was burning him like hell. But he just couldn't put it down for some reason.

Like letting go of it would rip out his heart.

"Yamato-Kun. YAMATO-KUN!" a voice snapped him out of his haze.

"H-Huh? What?" Yamato muttered, snapped out of his trance.

"We've got to do something Yamato!"

The Blonde boy looked up and saw a massive brown rock falling, and hovering above it was the beetle clearly scorched from the battle.

"Right, Right. HEY! Remember that fire thing you did before? Can you use it to blow up the rock?"

"I can try. But Yamato, what'll that-"

"Just Do it. Trust me." Yamato said, a wicked grin crossing his face.

"Alright. If you're sure," The Dog said, looking up towards the rock.

"PETIT FIRE!"

The Dog fired a stream of blue fire, straight at the rock, blasting it into a million pieces of smoking rock. The force of the blast knocked the Beetle into the wall! HARD!

The massive bug let out an inhuman wail as it fell into the water.

"It worked!" The Dog called out, "We're saved!"

"Yeah, aside from the imminent mortal danger of a watery grave." Yamato commented.

A downcast look crossed Gabumon's face and he felt bad for his words.

Yamato looked back towards his redheaded boyfriend. If he was going to die then the last thing he wanted to see was Koushiro.

&&&

"Hey Jyou?" the white Seal-like creature asked

"WHAT?"

"Why is everyone acting so scared?

"Because if we hit that water we'll die!"

"Can't you just swim?"

"In that current? WE WON'T SURVIVE!"

"Do you want me to do something?

"What could you POSSIBLY do?"

"MARCHING FISHES!"

Jyou decided his friend had lost his mind and decided to close his eyes in the hope he would somehow survive.

Jyou hit the water. It felt hard, but kind of cold and slimy. Why exactly wasn't he sinking through the surface?"

Jyou opened his eyes and saw hundreds, no, THOUSANDS OF FISH!

"W-WHAT? How did you do this? What on Earth are you?" Jyou was shouting frantically but there was underlying sense of relief that told the Seal-like creature that he was purely shocked and curious.

"Silly Jyou! I'm Gomamon! And these are my friends!"

"Wow. I kind of feel bad for all that Seafood." Jyou chuckled.

"Sea…Food?"

"You've never had Seafood? Well, I guess you kind of are Seafood now. Never mind! Gomen."

A look of confusion was still plastered on Gomamon's face.

"You know Jyou, you're a little crazy."

&&&

A Large splash broke the surface of the river.

Takeru whirled around and saw the large scorched beetle rising out of the water.

IT STILL WASN'T DEAD YET?

Takeru was filled with Horror as the monster flew towards him, locking him in its pincers. Tokomon, now orange with wings, was butting his head against the Beetle in a futile attempt to free him.

"Takeru!" Yamato called out in a concerned voice.

The fact that Yamato even noticed was almost enough to make him forget his current predicament.

Almost.

"BABY FLAME!"

A well-placed fireball hit the Beetle in the chest making him drop Takeru into the arms of a certain redhead he held resentment towards.

A blush crossed Takeru's face. He couldn't deny the irony of the current situation. The person he resented most had saved his life.

"Koushiro! My hero!" Yamato said, running up and wrapping his arms around Koushiro's neck.

And there it was. Koushiro had saved him because he was Yamato's brother. Nobody cared about him. His brother didn't care enough to actually notice him, Koushiro had just exploited him to get closer to him, and his parents didn't care enough to stay together.

Koushiro set Takeru back on his feet, and just like that he hated him again.

Why was he so alone?

The blonde chose to face the red beetle rather than the painful reality he was living in. The beetle had regained its composure and was now in hot pursuit of their Fish raft.

"MARCHING FISHES!"

The weird seal thing called out, causing steady streams of fish to fly from the raft and attack the Beetle.

Takeru had to avoid the parts of the raft that disappeared.

"Uh, Taichi?" said Koushiro

"Yeah?"

"Is it just me or is there a waterfall ahead?"

"Of course not. I would know if there were a WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"

The Raft of fish broke apart as the 7 kids were thrown over the side of a large Waterfall.

Takeru closed his eyes and braced for the impact as he felt himself falling once again towards water.

&&&

Taichi awoke feeling a large pain in his unusually thick head.

Where's Koushiro?

The Brunette sat up and found he was caught on a rock.

His eyes scanned the area finding a large waterfall and a small alcove of water.

Taichi followed the course of the water, which seemed to lead out to a large beach and six unconscious kids, including a certain redhead who had caught his inexplicable fancy.

Taichi ignored all pain, pulling himself out of the water.

"Ko-Koushiro." He groaned.

Taichi began running.

"Koushiro!"

&&&

The Water was warm today.

A great day for hunting

A Pair of hungry eyes scanned the water for any passing fish or sea creatures. Suddenly the eyes caught something. A creature he never saw before.

It had brown hair and brown eyes. It was running across the Beach.

It was so…beautiful.

Then the Eyes decided. They wanted this beautiful creature. And once they had it, they would keep it…Forever.

* * *

Alright! I'll have a new chapter up soon! And in case you didn't know, Gomen means 'Sorry' in Japanese!


	6. Dreams Dipped In Darkness

Koushiro was all alone. He saw nothing but darkness everywhere.

"Hello? Hello?" Koushiro was very afraid. He didn't see anything. He was trapped. All alone, with no way out.

Koushiro felt like he was being suffocated. He didn't even notice he was backing up until he hit something cold and hard.

The redhead whirled around and saw a giant black wall, with Yamato's image on it. Yamato was smiling evilly. "You're mine." It said.

Yamato's giant arm left the screen and tried to grab Koushiro.

"NO! NO! I'm not yours!"

Koushiro dodged the arm and fell back against the other wall.

"We'll never let you speak. We'll destroy you." A voice said

Koushiro turned around and saw a giant image of his adoptive parents.

Their arms stretched out to grab Koushiro, but he was able to dodge those as well.

"My Koushiro." A voice said.

Koushiro turned back around, but it was too late to dodge as Yamato's arms wrapped around the redhead.

Koushiro then felt the constrictive arms of his parents wrapping around him.

"NO! NO! Let me go!"

Koushiro was trapped. He was suffocating as their grasp tightened. He was sobbing harder than he ever had before.

"Please! Please!" Koushiro sobbed, "Somebody Please Help ME!"

Suddenly Koushiro heard an odd sound. Koushiro turned around to see a large cut in the wall that was filled with light. Standing beside it was Taichi who was clad in a suit of silver armor that was form-fitted to his muscular body. And in his hand was a large sword with a silver blade, a black handle, and a golden hilt with an orange star-shaped symbol engraved at the hilt.

A knight in shining armor

A devilish grin crossed his face. "Don't be afraid Koushiro. I'm here to free you. I'll always be here to save you from the darkness in your heart."

Taichi took off running towards Koushiro, the sword raised above his head.

For a second Koushiro thought Taichi was attacking him, but the brown-eyed boy merely cut through the darkness constricting him.

Koushiro's parents and Yamato shrank back into the walls and faded into the darkness. The redheaded boy was now sitting in the middle of the floor, his legs stretched out. Koushiro inhaled taking air back into his lungs.

Taichi crouched down and wiped away the remaining tears from Koushiro's face.

"Please don't cry anymore." The brown-haired boy said.

"Why?" the redhead asked turning towards Taichi.

"Your smile. It's the most beautiful thing in the world"

Koushiro smiled at this, likewise bringing a smile to Taichi's face. Koushiro suddenly noticed the Sword that Taichi had laid on the ground. More specifically he noticed the symbol on the sword's hilt. It was glowing with orange light.

That Symbol. What was it?

Taichi let out an unexpected laugh. "Don't worry, Koushiro! That symbol's nothing to be afraid of."

Koushiro's mouth hung agape. "H-h-how. H-h-how did you know-"

"-What you were thinking?" Taichi finished for him.

"Y-yeah." Koushiro answered, still clearly stunned.

"Koushiro, don't you remember? I know you. I can read you like a book. I could tell what you were thinking, even back then."

"Back then? What do you mean?"

"Sorry, Babe. Can't tell you. You've gotta figure it out for yourself."

"Oh." Koushiro sighed, still disappointed. "Can you at least tell me what the symbol is?"

"Symbol? What-Oh! I forgot!" Taichi slapped himself, "Stupid Yagami!"

Taichi gripped the sword "This is what I'm here to give you."

"What is it?" Koushiro

Taichi touched the symbol with his fingertips and began to glow with an orange light. He looked even more beautiful than before.

Taichi then leaned forward and planted a kiss on Koushiro's lips. Koushiro felt a sort of electricity transfer from Taichi's lips to his.

Koushiro then felt a powerful feeling rising inside him that could only be described in one way.

Taichi pulled away, a broad grin plastered on his face, "I think you know what it is."

"Courage." Koushiro stated.

**Chapter 4**

Koushiro awoke to a pair of lips attached to honey-brown eyes and brown hair. Taichi was holding him in his arms bride-style. Koushiro had been awake for about 5 seconds and he was already getting lost in the warm feeling of Taichi lapping at his lips like a thirsty dog when he remembered something.

Koushiro pulled away from the kiss, pressing his hands against Taichi.

"Not 'til I talk to Yamato." Koushiro said seriously, although he was smiling

"Sorry. I couldn't resist. You look so cute when you're asleep, like a little red-headed puppy." Taichi replied.

"Yeah. Until the big brown dog came and started licking me."

"You know you love it." Taichi shot back with a devilish grin.

A guilty smile crossed Koushiro's face with another blush. He couldn't believe how well he was getting along with Taichi, who was for all intensive purposes a stranger. They were joking and flirting, while Yamato only seemed to want control him and screw him.

Was this right? Was it right to leave after 2 years together?

_Is it right to call someone you allegedly love your 'property'_ a voice said in the back of his head.

It was Taichi's voice.

"Koushiro," said a voice that wasn't Taichi.

Koushiro looked down and saw Yamato stirring. He seemed to be waking up. Koushiro had forgotten about the others due to Taichi's chocolate lips.

"Quick," Koushiro whispered to Taichi "You better put me down before they wake up."

"Okay," Taichi said begrudgingly, "But once I've got you, I'm doing that more often."

"Deal! Now put me down." Koushiro whispered as Taichi set him onto the ground.

"K-Koushiro. My Koushiro." Yamato said as his eyes fluttered open.

Koushiro was suddenly reminded of his dreams and the events at the camp, causing a sickening chill passed through his stomach.

Yamato jumped up and wrapped his arms around Koushiro.

"I was so worried about you. I'll never let anyone hurt you my Koushiro."

Koushiro shot Taichi a pained look under Yamato's embrace.

"Alright you two!" Taichi cut in, "Plenty of time for romance later! Right now we've got more important things to deal with."

Yamato stood while keeping a possessive arm snaked around Koushiro's waist and sighed.

"Fine. I guess you're right. How 'bout some introductions? My name's Yamato, and this is my boyfriend Koushiro."

Koushiro cringed at the word.

"My name's Taichi," the boy said, pretending to know nothing, "You don't remember me?"

"Should I?" Yamato asked confused, "Do you know him, Izzy-Koi?"

Koushiro cringed at that one too. It only reminded him he was perpetrating a lie. He was sick of lies. But if he told Yamato now, he'd kill Taichi. He had to wait for the right time.

"Uh, Yeah! We met on the bus! He's my friend." The redhead answered nervously.

Koushiro saw the familiar look of possessiveness and Paranoia cross Yamato's face. But he seemed to trust Taichi…now.

"Come on. Let's go wake the others." Yamato said, dragging Koushiro by the wrist.

Koushiro looked back at Taichi and mouthed the words 'Thank you'.

At that exact moment, a sense of déjà vu shot through both of them.

&&&

A pair of hungry eyes watched the beautiful creature with brown hair.

The creature seemed to press its face against another creature with pale skin.

A Pang shot through the creature attached to the eyes.

It didn't know why, but it felt jealous.

It wanted to be the one pressed up against the brown-haired creature.

It wanted to possess the brown-haired one.

The water started shifting rapidly as the hungry-eyed creature began moving towards shore.

&&&

"POISON IVY!"

The green plant that Mimi now knew as Palmon extended its fingernails, ready to protect Mimi.

Mimi was confused for a second…but then she started chuckling.

They really must be in a remote part of the world if these creatures didn't even know what a phone booth is.

Mimi, Sora, and two kids whose names she had learned were Jyou and Takeru had been woken up by a blonde boy with steely eyes and an adorable redhead named Koushiro.

Shortly after this awakening, they had spotted a cluster of phone booths along the beach.

How crazy was that?

Here they were in some remote island country where the creatures apparently had growth spurts that made them look completely different, or at least that was the logical explanation Mimi was going by.

And then they find proof that humans had been here! She shuddered to think what had happened to them.

"What's so funny?" the brown-haired boy, Taichi asked. "I sure as Hell don't see anything funny about our current situation."

"No, No. It's nothing. Palmon thought the phone booths were monsters!"

"Palmon?" the brown-haired boy asked.

There had only been time for human introductions before they spotted the phone booths.

Mimi pointed out her leafy green friend as an indication.

"Oh! The weed!" Taichi exclaimed.

Palmon scowled angrily at this, and Mimi opted to change the subject before things got violent.

"Say, why don't we check out those phone booths? We might be able to contact our parents and maybe find a Japanese embassy around here to get us home."

"Yeah!" Sora agreed, getting on board "Anyone have any money?"

Apparently Jyou always kept some money for emergencies. Mimi's parents always left her plenty of money. One of the benefits of not being a rebel caked in gothic make-up and Otaku attire. The cute redhead Koushiro had some money stashed away. In the end there was enough to go around, and once everyone was squared away…

"Last one there is Dragon Ball GT!!!" Mimi called as she bolted towards the phone booths with the other children close behind.

Mimi wasted no time yanking her booth's door open and stepping inside, her leafy friend right next to her.

Mimi took the phone off the hook and dialed her parents' number. She hoped they weren't too worried about her.

The blonde lifted the phone to her ear and heard nothing but white noise. What the? What was the point of a phone booth without service? Mimi tried calling again. Nothing. No. No! This couldn't be happening!

And at that moment, Mimi was finding it very hard to be optimistic about her crappy life.

&&&

The hungry eyes were still watching the strange creatures with pale skin, in particular the one with brown hair eyes.

The creature stopped in the water, not wanting to give away its presence.

If these creatures had any sort of powers, the thing attached to the eyes would want to know.

The hungry eyes watched as all the creatures began entering metal boxes that had been there as long as it remembered. The boxes were harmless.

The hungry eyes had checked, back when they belonged to an Otamamon.

The Thing gradually started moving towards the boxes.

The creatures had left the boxes with expressions of disappointment.

The eyes didn't care; they just wanted the brown haired one.

&&&

It was a veritable feast for the eyes!

At least to Taichi. The nerd with blue hair had REALLY COME THROUGH! There were chocolate bars, rice balls, and half a dozen bentos!

Plus this was high quality stuff! Who knew how much yen it cost? And he definitely needed the food. After all that monster fighting, Taichi was pretty hungry.

But he could also use a distraction from the hormone-fueled hole he'd dug himself into. He didn't know what Koushiro was to him; let alone what he was to Koushiro. He couldn't just play fast and loose with the redhead's heart forever.

But if that kept it safe from Yamato's possessiveness, for now it was good enough. He would sort out his own complicated feelings later

And right now, the priority was figuring out their situation. Where were they? How'd they get there? Who were these strange creatures tagging along? And how had they instantly gotten bigger back on the cliff? Wait a minute!

Taichi reached into his pocket and pulled out the electronic device from earlier.

"Hey guys! Did anybody get one of these?" Taichi shouted to the circle they were sitting in.

A shocked look crossed every single face in that circle.

"So then…I'm not the only one?" Jyou asked Taichi, pulling a similar device out of his bag.

"No way!" Sora exclaimed, pulling a device out of her pocket.

One by one all the children in the circle revealed they had the same device.

"Wow! Incredible!" Yamato, the bastard, shouted out, "How do we all have one?"

"I don't know." Koushiro answered. "Back on the cliff, this light shot out of my chest-"

"-And hit your hand. And then when you looked at it, this device was in it. Am I right?"

"H-How did you know?" Koushiro stammered.

"I can read you like a book Koushiro." Taichi answered, bringing an odd, uneasy look to Koushiro's face. "That and the same thing happened to me." Koushiro fell backwards as the uneasy look was replaced by an anime sweat drop.

"But what are they?" Takeru asked. "What do they do?"

Taichi pointed at the Digimon, who weren't eating (Aside from Agumon, who Taichi shared his food with). "Well we KNOW it made THEM bigger. Oh! That reminds me! We haven't gotten proper introductions with all that's been going on. My name's Taichi! What are your names?

"Palmon" said the green plant.

"Gomamon" said the white, orange-haired seal

"Gabumon" said the weird dog-coated thing

"Patamon" said the orange winged-soccer ball

"Piyomon" said the pink bird

"Tentomon" said the red ladybug

"Agumon" said his new orange dinosaur friend

"Nice to meet Ya!" Taichi answered in a gung ho manner. "Now that that's outta the way, how'd you get bigger?"

"Oh, we just evolved." Said Agumon.

"E-Evolved?" Stammered Koushiro.

"Yup!" Answered Agumon.

"Th-That's impossible! Evolution takes millions of years!" Koushiro protested

"WOW! Have millions of years passed?" Agumon turned to his fellow weird-ass creatures.

"How should I know? Maybe. It feels like we've been waiting for them awhile." Patamon said.

"W-Waiting for us?" Taichi asked. But he didn't get answer, as a large crash interrupted him.

Taichi turned and saw one of the phone booths in a million pieces on the beach.

"DRILL SHELL!" A booming voice called out.

Taichi watched in horror as a phone booth was pulled into a massive sinkhole. He heard a series of screeching guttural sounds, like a dentist's drill. And then, a cold chill rushed down his spine at the sight of another booth being tossed onto the beach.

This time Taichi got a better look to assess the damage. It was crushed and compacted like a car in a junkyard, but it was Swiss-cheesed with giant holes in the glass.

_What kind of Monster could do that?_

Taichi looked at Koushiro, and they shared a look of utter fear. Those black eyes pierced Taichi's soul, and he knew how much Koushiro wished he could be safe in Taichi's arms right now. But right now the best Taichi could do to keep Koushiro safe was to beat whatever had swallowed the phone booths.

Taichi turned to Agumon and whispered in his small ears, "Hey Agumon."

"Yeah?"

"If anything happens to me, make sure to keep Koushiro safe."

"Alright." The Dinosaur answered.

"Okay! Come on out, whatever you are!" Taichi shouted in the sinkhole's direction.

&&&

The creature attached to the hungry pair of eyes suddenly heard a voice. The voice of the brown-haired one.

The Creature hoped he had been impressive enough to garner attention from the brown-haired one.

It must have worked.

The hungry-eyed creature adjusted itself to begin crawling up out of the hole.

Luckily it's drill shell allowed it to make an entrance.

It would impress the brown-haired one. The brown-haired one would belong to the creature with the hungry eyes.

&&&

Taichi stood ready to defend Koushiro and the others, even Yamato. He owed him that much for stealing redheaded kisses behind his back.

Suddenly the ground began to shake.

Taichi struggled to stay standing under the tremors.

They were SO STRONG! It was almost unbearable!

And then, something began to crawl out of the sinkhole. It was hideous! Its hair looked like Styrofoam tubes, it had slimy pink skin, and a massive jaw accompanied by a pair of blue eyes that stared at him with a weird look.

"Oh no!" Gomamon cried out, "That's Shellmon! We must be on his territory!"

Taichi quickly assessed this mysterious opponent. At least he didn't seem to have the mobility of Kuwagamon.

"Alright guys!" Taichi called back, "We can definitely beat him!"

"Are you crazy?" Yamato asked, "The best thing we can do is run! There's no way we can beat something like that!"

This guy was starting to irritate Taichi even more than before. What an asshole. "Come on guys! Have a little courage!"

That same weird look crossed Koushiro's face again. And then something strange happened, "Come on guys!" Koushiro urged, "Let's have some faith. Believe we can beat him!"

Everyone seemed stunned by this display, it seemed uncharacteristic to everyone. But it seemed to work.

"Gomamon. I believe in you! Go get him!" Jyou said to the seal.

"Patamon, believe you can win!" Takeru encouraged his friend.

The orange dinosaur Agumon walked up next to Taichi.

"Taichi."

"Agumon. Let's go!"

Taichi took off running towards the giant slimy creature, grabbing a stick off the ground.

"Hey Shellmon! Don't you dare hurt my friends!" Or Koushiro, Taichi silently added to himself.

Taichi hurled the stick at Shellmon's eye. Despite being a soccer play, he had a good throwing arm. And he had the best Hand-Eye coordination in Odaiba.

The stick nailed Shellmon right in the eye, causing him to wail in immense pain. Taichi didn't understand why, considering his reaction was way too over the top for an eye hit. Go figure.

&&&

Shellmon had no idea what was happening. He had bided his time to approach the brown-haired creature and had even gone out of his way to impress it!

And this was the thanks he got?

Well he didn't care! The brown-haired one WOULD be his!

No matter who got in the way.

&&&

Shellmon swiped its large pink hand at Taichi.

The brown-eyed boy who seemed to be too good to be true for Koushiro dodged it easily.

He recalled Taichi telling him he was a soccer player. Based on a move like that, Taichi must've been the star.

Taichi took off running back towards him and the others, and that's when Koushiro realized Taichi's genius!

While Taichi had faced off against Shellmon, the three digimon had surrounded the massive creature.

Sadly, despite what Koushiro had said, the odds weren't really in their favor with his other friends holding their digimon back.

The Shellmon now seemed to be recovering and watching Taichi. What was his fixation with Taichi?

_Unless…Oh no. It couldn't be._

Gomamon was directly in front of Shellmon, standing between him and Taichi.

The small white seal raised its hand toward Shellmon's body.

Gomamon's black claws began glowing white. This should be interesting.

"GOMAFUAZARASHI BLAST!" Extremely fast white energy bubbles shot out of Gomamon's claws hitting the eye that Taichi attacked earlier.

Koushiro was no expert, but he knew that Shellmon's eye had been blinded. Maybe they really had a chance.

Patamon was hovering about Shellmon's yellow, tube-like hair.

"KIBOU NO HIKARI" called the Orange creature, as twin beams of golden energy shot out of his eyes, severing one of his hair tubes.

Koushirou was no expert, but he could tell…Shellmon was pissed.

"HYDRO PRESSURE!" Shellmon called out, launching a powerful current of water from one of his hair tubes that knocked Patamon out of the air.

"Pata-chan!" Takeru cried out, catching the orange creature in his arms. Tears trickled down the blonde boy's face and onto the unconscious creature.

Gomamon glanced back at his fallen comrade.

"This one's for Pata-chan," Gomamon said determined, "GOMAFUAZARASHI-"

Shellmon knocked Gomamon away with a swipe of his hand and proceeded to move towards Taichi.

"Gomamon!" Jyou called out, concerned yet unable to do anything.

Shellmon continued moving towards Taichi, who probably didn't even realize it.

Agumon was their last line of defense now. They were most definitely screwed.

"BABY FLAME!" the pint-sized orange dinosaur called out, singing Shellmon's hair. It must have been the extra strength from the food he ate. For a last line of defense he was pretty good.

Koushiro knew the other teenagers were calling out encouragingly, including the overly possessive blonde boy with an arm around his waist. But it was all white noise to him. As if everything else seemed pointless when someone he loved was in danger.

WAIT! Did that mean he loved Taichi? Did that mean he didn't love Yamato?

"BABY FLAME!"

Shellmon dodged the fireball and brought its arm crashing down on Agumon. NO!

Shellmon turned its attention towards Taichi, and swore to GOD that he smiled. Shellmon's hair shot out towards Taichi, and at that moment Koushiro tore away from Yamato and broke into a sprint towards Taichi.

&&&

Agumon was being crushed under the arm of an ugly pink creature. And it was all his fault. How had this happened? Oh yeah! He'd been a blind idiot!

What could he do? He wasn't gonna leave Agumon hanging. No way! Taichi spotted another stick on the beach.

That's it! Taichi could just distract him again. Agumon would escape and they'd keep fighting.

Taichi was preparing to run when he noticed something. Shellmon was smiling! And that's when a realization hit him like a ton of bricks! Why Shellmon was attacking, and why he kept going for Taichi. Shellmon was after HIM!

In a normal situation this would be flattering, but not when it was a giant mutant with living hair.

Shellmon smiled at Taichi, causing a sickening pain in his stomach. Suddenly, Shellmon's hair whipped out towards Taichi. Was this the end?

Taichi instinctively shut his eyes and felt something push him out of the way of Shellmon's hair.

Taichi's eyes shot open and he saw Koushiro in midair, having knocked him out of the way. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion after that. One of Shellmon's hair tubes wrapped around Koushiro's chest, retracting back towards his head.

Oh No! Now they were both caught! Agumon, a loyal friend, and Koushiro, a guy who he'd promised to protect and really liked!

Taichi couldn't move his body. He was paralyzed with guilt. The only thing he was able to move was his head, which turned to look back at his friends.

They all had fear in their eyes except for Yamato, who was running alongside Gabumon and Tentomon. Undoubtedly they were making a futile attempt to save Koushiro.

Too little, too late huh?

"PETIT FIRE!"

"PETITE THUNDER!"

The bug and the dog merged their attacks, severing one of Shellmon's hair tubes with a stream of electric fire. Sadly it was the wrong tube.

"HYDRO PRESSURE!" Shellmon called, blasting Tentomon out of the air and Gabumon into the ground.

Yamato looked really angry. He was now running towards Taichi. He bent down and grabbed Taichi's shirt. Yamato was now shaking him.

"TAICHI! YOU IDIOT! GET UP OFF YOUR ASS AND FIGHT!"

Taichi didn't understand. How was he supposed to fight? And then he heard it. Koushiro was crying out in pained agony. Taichi shifted his view towards the redhead and saw Shellmon angrily twisting his hair around Koushiro. Undoubtedly he realized his hair had missed.

_Koushiro. I'm sorry. I wish I could save you._

"DAMN IT TAICHI! I KNOW YOU AND KOUSHIRO ARE FRIENDS, BUT IF YOU DON'T GET UP I'LL NEVER LET YOU NEAR MY KOUSHIRO AGAIN!"

_Let me near him? Yamato, you asshole! He doesn't belong to you! He doesn't even belong with you! He belongs with me!_

"HYDRO PRESSURE!" Shellmon's hair blasted Yamato off of him.

"ONII-CHAN!" Taichi heard the voice of Takeru, who would undoubtedly take care of Yamato. The way Taichi should've taken care of Koushiro.

Taichi stared at Shellmon with hell in his eyes. And that's when he realized it. No matter how he defined their relationship, no matter how he felt about Koushiro, right now, more than anything, he wanted to save him.

"Let him go!" Taichi called out to the pink, slimy creature.

The disgusting thing sneered and tightened its hold on Koushiro. "TAICHI!", Koushiro called, his breath leaving his fragile body.

"HEY! Let him go!" Taichi called.

Shellmon's hair shot out, which Taichi easily evaded, landing like a cat on his feet. "T-T-TAICHI! I…I!" Koushiro's breathing was constricting. Taichi had promised to protect him. He had vowed to stick by him. And no matter what, he would save him.

"DAMN IT! I SAAAAAAAAAAAAAID LET HIM GO!!!!!" A shower of golden light erupted from Taichi's pocket.

Taichi reached inside and pulled out the small white device. There were all sorts of weird symbols flowing across the screen and it was flashing like crazy.

Taichi recognized at as the same light their digimon used to get bigger. Taichi turned towards his dinosaur friend, still under the arm of Shellmon.

"AGUMON! You promised me buddy, that you'd keep Koushiro safe! Don't break that promise now! You can do it, remember? I BELIEVE IN YOU!!!"

Taichi raised the device and watched in wonder as Agumon was showered in a thousand golden lights. His body seemed to be absorbing any light that hit it. He was like a sponge, an energy sponge.

"AGUMON, SHINKA!"

Agumon instantly began growing. It was amazing! Like nothing he'd ever seen! Within a minute, Agumon had grown to about 5 times his size. He was now big as Shellmon!"

"GREYMON!" Said, the beast formerly known as Agumon.

The light began fading, allowing Taichi a better look. Agumon, Or Greymon, was wearing a horned brown helmet and was now adorned with dozens of blue dashes along his body. But all of that paled in comparison to the fact that he was now a full-blown orange dinosaur!

"Alright! Go Save Koushiro!"

The orange dinosaur moved towards Shellmon menacingly.

"HYDRO PRESSURE!" the Pink creature ineffectually shot a current of water at Greymon, who now had a helmet to block it.

Greymon cut through the hair holding Koushiro with his razor-sharp claws.

Koushiro fell into Greymon's hand, safely.

"Now! Go get that slimy freak!" Taichi called, pointing out Shellmon.

"MEGA FLAME!"

A Massive fireball flew from Greymon's mouth, its sheer impact shattering the pink creature's shell into thousands of pieces.

A yellow glow seemed to envelop Shellmon, shrinking him down to a purple tadpole.

Taichi approached the strange creature, a look of anger in his eyes.

"I'd run if I were you." Taichi growled, causing the tadpole to scurry off into the ocean.

"Greymon! I'll take it from here!" Taichi called.

The orange dinosaur dropped the unconscious Koushiro into Taichi's arms, which cradled him protectively.

From this point on, no matter what he felt for the redhead, he would protect him. And just in case nothing came of his feelings for Koushiro, knowing nobody could see over Greymon, Taichi pressed his lips to Koushiro's for one last kiss.

* * *

Sorry for the delay on this! I was depressed because I think I probably failed my midterms and didn't really feel like writing! I could really use some more reviews, so I gave you a long chapter!

Japanese:

Kibou No Hikari-Light of Hope

Gomafuazarashi-A type of seal and the namesake for Gomamon

Hope you enjoyed it! New Chapter soon!


	7. Fire and Light

**Chapter 5**

What was evolution?

What was its purpose?

And how was it connected to the strange devices?

How was Agumon able to evolve further when the others couldn't?

These were all questions being rolled around in Taichi's head. Better these questions than thoughts of Koushiro being rolled around in his bed.

Taichi had absolutely no idea what Agumon was. He had gone over this before, but it couldn't hurt to go over it again.

Okay, so first, on the cliff, Taichi was scared for Koromon, the end result being Agumon and an assortment of other brightly colored creatures with weird powers.

THEN! They wind up on a wet roller coaster ride to a beach where they get attacked by some weird shell thing with a fixation on HIM!

Taichi always thought he was a stud, but he never planned on attracting weird monstrous species. Besides, he had Koushiro. Or at least he thought he did. OKAY, Hoped he did! But, moving on.

The Shellmon thing had Agumon pinned, and Taichi had feared for his life then. Maybe Taichi worrying about Agumon was the key?

But then what was up with that device? It DEFINITELY had something to do with evolution, and it didn't appear until Taichi was all fired up about fighting Shellmon.

Okay, now Taichi was pretty sure he was confusing himself. Maybe he should just ask the source himself.

"Agumon."

"What is it, Taichi?" the dinosaur said walking forward.

"Why did you change back from Greymon into Agumon?"

"Well…"

"Well…?" Taichi was a tad impatient.

"I don't know either."

Taichi nearly tripped forward off the cliff, luckily Agumon grabbed him by his shirt. Looks like Taichi needed some work on his Anime sweat-dropping, or else he'd sweat-drop off a cliff.

Taichi's attention was drawn by a loud crash.

_Please don't be Shellmon!_ Taichi thought hopefully as he turned towards the sound.

A large stone wall broke open, as a giant dinosaur with gray armor and a white underside charged through. Taichi also noticed red marks, a large facial horn, and what looked like a gear wedged in his back.

Why was it that monsters always seemed to come attached to any loud noise here?

"What is that!?" asked the redhead of Taichi's dreams

"That's Monochromon" answered the ladybug Tentomon "But he's a really nice digimon, so there's no need to worry."

A weird smile crossed the dinosaur's face. The same kind that was on Shellmon's face. It was an evil smile.

"You say that, but he's heading towards us!" Taichi shouted

The approaching Dinosaur roared, "MONOCLONIUS STRIKE!"

The great beast charged rapidly at them.

"NO!" Cried Mimi as she narrowly dodged the blow. But she was now hanging by her fingertips from the edge of the cliff.

The Dinosaur approached the helpless Mimi with that evil smile on his face, ignoring the other children scattered around him.

Taichi had to do something. They couldn't afford to lose anyone, and besides that he was beginning to like Mimi. She was generally nice to everyone, a good quality.

"Hey! UGLY!" called the voice of a familiar redhead.

Oh Crap. Don't do it, Koushiro.

The Dinosaur turned around to see the redheaded genius flailing his arms.

"Yeah, you heard me! Leave her alone you largely armored unidentified creature!"

Koushiro was trash talking? He was doing about as well as Sheldon from the Big Bang Theory. He loved American humor.

"That's right! You huge, ugly, armored piece of shit! I can trash talk you all I want and there's not a Damn thing you can do!"

Now that's more like it. Taichi found himself getting strangely turned on by this side of Koushiro.

The Dinosaur scowled for a second, but then an evil grin returned to his face.

Monochromon took a step forward causing Koushiro to flinch.

"Koushiro! Get out of there! RUN!" Taichi called, but he could see that the redhead was paralyzed with fear. Just like he had been back at the beach.

Then the great beast did something exceedingly strange: He bent his had down and stuck his horn in the ground.

What the Hell is he doing?

"VOLCANO STRIKE!", Monochromon roared

Uh oh. That sure didn't sound good.

Taichi wondered what it was, but not too long as 5 streams of fire shot up out of the ground, surrounding Koushiro and trapping him.

"Koushiro, No!" Called Mimi, who had crawled back up onto the cliff by now.

Monochromon menacingly began to approach Koushiro.

"PETITE FIRE!"

A blue stream of fire ineffectually hit Monochromon, who kept walking towards the redhead.

Taichi glanced over at Yamato standing next to Gabumon, who had quite obviously been coerced by the blonde. What an asshole. Seriously, who would exploit a life-threatening situation just to look good?

Monochromon was 3 feet away from the helpless Koushiro. Those beautiful black eyes were filled with fear.

Taichi hadn't forgotten his promise to protect Koushiro. He just had to wait for the right moment and then—

"Taichi! What the Hell are you doing?" Sora called. Taichi was now running towards Monochromon. If he timed it just right-

"YES!" shouted the brunette as he landed hard on Monochromon's back. Taichi started pounding the creature's armor as he could, receiving one of the biggest shocks of his life! It was really hard! Harder than metal!

No creature on Earth had skin this hard! That thought resonated in Taichi's mind. Were they even still on Earth?

Taichi continued pounding on Monochromon's shell in vain.

"Stop! Stop! Don't you take another step, you-" 'Hits Monochromon'"-BIG-"'Hits Monochromon'"-UGLY-"'Hits Monochromon'"-BASTARD!"

The great dinosaur-like beast continued moving towards Koushiro, who was still trapped in fire.

NO! It wasn't fair! He promised to protect Koushiro and now it looked like he was gonna-NO! Not an option! Koushiro was gonna live long enough to hear how Taichi felt! There was no way he was gonna lose Koushiro now that he finally had a friend, possibly-more-than-a-friend who actually saw past the labels people put on him.

Monochromon stopped. Was it Taichi's doing? Did all that pounding have an effect? Koushiro looked up from his crouched down position, removing his hands from his head. Taichi and Koushiro shared a look, the unspoken question hanging in the air between them: What had happened.

Taichi felt Monochromon beginning to rumble beneath him. It felt like a tremor from an Earthquake. Or that certain feeling he got from going to the kind of website he would never want his parents to know about.

Taichi looked back towards Koushiro and saw utter terror in his black eyes. What was he so afraid of?

Taichi leaned over Monochromon's shoulder and looked into his gigantic stinking mouth. Inside he saw yet another thing on the list of impossibilities he'd witnessed that day, starting with that miniature meteor shower.

A fireball seemed to be forming in the Dinosaur's mouth, it looked like the one he'd seen Greymon launch at Shellmon. Greymon. Where the Hell was he? Why hadn't Agumon evolved yet to help them? WHY!

The fireball grew bigger.

It looked like the end.

"Taichi." A calm voice said.

Taichi looked towards Koushiro, whose eyes were tearing up. He looked utterly sad, yet calm at the same time. He was completely amazing.

"Goodbye." The redhead said.

"No, No! Koushiro! Don't say goodbye! You can't go! Don't go!"

Without realizing it, tears were pouring down Tai's eyes. A dim glow appeared in Taichi's pocket. Through his blurred eyes, Tai saw the glow and pulled out the same device from before.

"What the f-"

Brilliant golden light shot straight out of the device. The light engulfed Taichi for a seconds and then disappeared. Taichi looked around for the giant orange Dinosaur that had saved him before. It really looked like the end, except…Monochromon had stopped dead in his tracks.

Taichi looked over the shoulder of Monochromon and saw that his red eyes had turned blue.

_What, did his contacts fall out?_

The creature suddenly started bucking and shaking violently, like he was scared. What the Hell? He didn't seem so scared before! Taichi reached for the gear in his back to hang onto. Where is it? It's gone! Taichi fell off of Monochromon's back as the massive grey dinosaur charged off into the woods.

Taichi looked over to see how Koushiro was. The fire had now vanished, and aside from a few burns and singes, the redhead was okay.

"Koushiro!" Taichi ran over and wrapped an arm around the redhead's shoulders, helping him up.

Taichi looked down into Koushiro's eyes.

"Jesus, Koushiro, don't you ever scare me like that again."

The redhead looked up into the hypnotic brown eyes and flinched under their serious gaze.

Taichi suddenly had that irresistible feeling again. The one that pulled him, burned him, and urged him towards Koushiro.

He was leaning forward now, closer and closer, towards those beautiful pale lips. He was almost there now. God, how great it would be feel them again. Just like in the woods, at the beach…at the make-out tree. He was almost there, just a few more inches and-

"TAICHI!"

Taichi dropped Koushiro back on to the ground and turned, ever so slowly, until he was facing Yamato, who looked like he wanted to KILL Taichi. Not figuratively! LITERALLY!

This was gonna be tough to explain.

* * *

Alright! Hope you enjoyed! Next chapter will definitely be longer! I just kinda got caught up watching Magikano and Ojamajo Doremi, but without realizing it I'd already written a decent sized chapter. Weird, huh?

Monoclonius-Dinosaur that inspired Monochromon

BTW:

I'm writers blocked for Cards of Darkness! Any ideas? Leave 'em in review form!

Sayonnara!


	8. Sink or Swim: Koushiro's Trial

_Where are you my Koushiro? _

Yamato was having the day from Hell!

First off, he can't remember a damn thing since being on the bus! God Damn all inconveniently placed rocks!

Second, he realizes he's in some weird-ass place that for all he knew could be thousands of miles away from Japan!

Or it might not even be on Earth! They could be in the Land of the Lost right now, minus Will Ferrell and his crappy declining career!

But the Third, and Worst thing, was that he kept seeming to lose Koushiro to that brown-haired kid, Taichi! Not that he really had anything against Taichi. But Koushiro was now acting strange for some reason.

GO FIGURE! It was probably just fate trying to screw him over when all he wanted to do was screw Koushiro. Well nothing was going to stop him!

Not even his failed attempt to save Koushiro from Monochromon.

Yamato was currently hiding behind a rock with Gabumon planning his big comeback when the area suddenly got darker.

What the Hell?

Yamato popped open his cell phone and looked at the clock.

4:00

It should still be daytime. Yamato looked up and saw the sun still shining in the sky. No Eclipse.

Yamato pushed himself up from his sitting position.

"Yamato! That's dangerous!" Gabumon warned

"I'm only gonna get a quick look. "

Yamato grabbed a hold in the considerably large rock they hid behind. Yamato peeked over the rock, his body below the eyes completely hidden, and watched as Monochromon stood before the redhead.

From where he was, Yamato couldn't tell what was happening. It looked like the dinosaur was trying to assault his Izzy-Koi with his horrendous bad breath, but considering what he'd seen of this strange place, it was probably WAY worse than that.

Taichi was now trying to stop the dinosaur by hitting it. How stupid can you be? It didn't take a rocket scientist to realize it'd take something stronger than fists to break through that shell.

Yamato was now preparing to distract Monochromon. At least he'd be able to save Koushiro, if nothing else. The blonde tensed his legs when he realized something: Taichi was crying. Why? He'd only JUST met Koushiro!

What a wimp!

Yamato knew he wouldn't cry over something that easily. As far as he was concerned, showing emotion showed weakness. He couldn't afford to be weak.

Something strange was happening. All the light in the area seemed to be getting sucked into Taichi's pocket.

Yamato's heart was getting hot.

_What's Happening?_

The heat from Yamato's heart suddenly disappeared, and was replaced by a burning feeling in his pocket.

Yamato reached into his pocket and pulled out the device, which was now radiating heat and vibrating like a cell phone or a sex toy.

The tiny screen seemed to be filed with shimmering green energy and strange, flickering symbols.

What was going on?

First it turns dark during the day, and now this weird piece of Junk looked like an Shyamalan movie! But it only went to the long list of strange things that happened, which were at this point uncountable.

Things were getting darker, yet lighter at the same time from the light of Taichi's device, creating an eerie aura in the clearing. Yamato watched as the shadows dancing over the stonewalls were repelled by an intense brightness. Taichi had pulled out the device from his pocket and seemed to be staring at it.

"What the F-"

Thousands of Golden rays of light shot out of the device and into the sky.

Yamato looked up and saw a single point of light.

_I know that Light. That's the same light that made Tsunomon and the others get bigger! But where'd it go?_

Yamato didn't have to wait long to find out as the light came down, showering Taichi in the shape of a single pillar. Yamato covered his eyes as it disappeared in a blinding flash.

_Am I dead?_

Yamato opened his eyes cautiously and he saw that for whatever reason, Monochromon was running away. The blonde boy's eyes darted back to Koushiro, who looked safe aside from a few bruises and burns. Thank God!

Taichi wrapped his arm around Koushiro's shoulders and helped him up.

Yamato stood up from his hiding place.

"Hey, Gabumon. It's okay. We're safe!"

The fur-clad dog uncovered its eyes and stood up too. Gabumon had clearly covered his eyes during the ordeal. The poor dog-like creature was a coward, but he was nice enough, and that made him okay in Yamato's book.

Yamato walked around the rock that he'd been hiding behind and began to approach Koushiro and Taichi when he noticed something. That look in Taichi's eyes. He knew it. It was the same look he had whenever he saw his Izzy-Koi at school. Taichi began leaning towards Koushiro.

Yamato's heart beat faster, his blood beginning to boil with anger.

"TAICHI!"

**Chapter 6**

Taichi dropped Koushiro onto his firm, pale butt.

_CRAP!_

Taichi really had to work on controlling his urges. In the Chaos caused by that Ugly Over-Sized Fire-breathed Bastard, he'd completely forgotten about everyone else!

Even worse, it looked like he'd once again broken his promise to wait for Koushiro to tell Yamato. He'd been lucky the redhead hadn't remembered back on the beach.

"T-TAICHI! W-WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING TO MY KOUSHIRO?"

Yamato was seriously pissed, which Taichi secretly loved! The Bastard deserved it, even if he didn't remember why!

The brown-eyed boy looked down at Koushiro, who seemed to be petrified.

"Hey! Douche bag! Don't look at him, look at ME!"

Taichi's eyes shot back to Yamato.

"NOW! Tell me what you were doing to MY boyfriend!"

Taichi was silent. He didn't know how to respond to this. He had promised Koushiro and now they'd been caught. What could he say?

_Come on Koushiro. Feel free to speak up anytime…hopefully on my behalf._

"HEY! Answer me! What were you doing to MY boyfriend?"

Well, until Koushiro decided to say something, all he could do was deny, deny, deny. But right now all he wanted to do was kick Yamato's stupid possessive ass.

"We weren't doing anything." Taichi answered weakly

"That's Bull! I guess now I know why your eyes are so brown." Yamato spat back.

_You are so asking for an ass kicking!_

"Now admit it! You were trying to De-flower my Koushiro, weren't you! I knew it! There was no way you were just friends! I'm the only friend Koushiro needs! You just stay the Hell away from him-"

Taichi threw his fist, full force into Yamato's pale white face, knocking him on his ass. Taichi had it at that point; he didn't care anymore about being caught. Yamato didn't have the right to control Koushiro, and sure as hell didn't deserve to be with him.

Taichi looked down to gage Koushiro's reaction, and saw nothing there.

The brown-eyed boy shifted his gaze up and heard the sounds of panting and running. Taichi turned to the left and spotted Koushiro running further into the woods, and before he knew it, Taichi was running too.

&&&

Trees were passing Koushiro at super speed.

Why?

Why were they going so fast? Where were they going? Where were they so eager to go to? And why were they getting blurrier and blurrier?

The trees were twisting and blurring. They didn't seem real anymore.

Maybe they weren't. Maybe none of this was. These weird monsters that changed shape like the trees. This strange place he'd inexplicably been transported too. And HIM: Taichi Yagami, somebody who seemed so kind and carefree, yet troubled and secretive, but smart and caring and passionate all at the same time, a lexicon of the human condition hidden behind that brown hair, that chocolate skin, and those beautiful eyes.

YES! That had to be it! This was a dream! Nobody could care about him like Yamato. It was impossible for anybody else to care about him like that!

Koushiro heard something coming up behind him. Maybe it was Yamato, coming to finally apologize for controlling him and isolating him! That would be his ideal for a good dream!

The redhead felt a hand grab his arm, gripping it tightly.

Yamato looked down and saw a white glove gripping his arm. BUT WAIT! Yamato had brown gloves. So it hadn't been him.

A hand grabbed Koushiro's other arm and turned him around to face his dream.

"Koushiro! What the Hell? We just got caught and you left me there hanging! What's up with you? That was a perfect opportunity to tell him-"

"Go Away." The redhead muttered, his eyes downcast.

"W-What?"

"GO AWAY!"

"B-But Koushiro, why?"

"You're not real! None of this real! You're just a dream! That's the only way any of this could be happening! This Place, these creatures, and somebody like you actually caring about me!"

"K-Koushiro, this isn't-"

"I mean it all makes sense, right? Yamato and I have been dating for 2 years, right? So Yamato must actually care about me! Yamato must actually love me-"

SMACK!

The sudden sound wave caused birds to fly out of the clearing in fear.

Koushiro put his hand to the place where Taichi had just inexplicably slapped him. The pain stemmed deeper than the sting of the hand-shaped mark on his face.

Koushiro crumpled to his knees completely lost. He stared at his hands, which were propping him up until he felt a hand on his shoulder.

The redhead looked up and saw that Taichi was now crouched down to talk to him.

"Listen to me, Kou. Remember back to the camp when you had that fight with Yama, where he said he owned you. That was real. Now think back to the bus ride, where you were just about the only person I knew who thought I wasn't crazy. Our friendship is real. My feelings for you are real. And this was real too."

Taichi leaned forward and pressed his chocolate lips against Koushiro, filling him with that same ecstasy, stealing away his breath. Taichi pressed his tongue against Koushiro's lips, licking them, and then he pulled away.

Taichi stood up.

"If we're nothing else, Koushiro, we'll still be friends. And I'll always be here to protect you."

Taichi began walking back through the woods towards the people they'd left behind, leaving Koushiro on the ground, fragile and broken.

&&&

Takeru looked down at his bloody-nosed brother.

What the Hell had happened?

Everyone had gone to hide after that giant dinosaur had attacked. Takeru remembered being huddled against Sora.

She seemed pretty nice, with a sort of maternal warmth to her. After they'd come out of hiding, the first thing they'd seen was Yamato splayed on the ground groaning in pain.

"Taichi…You Bastard…" Yamato groaned.

Takeru jumped at that. Taichi had hurt Yamato? Why? Taichi seemed nice enough.

What could make Taichi attack him?

Yamato continued to groan incoherently, making Takeru slightly uncomfortable.

Takeru heard the sound of leaves crunching and looked towards the woods as Taichi walked out, a completely blank expression on his face.

"TAICHI!" Takeru called "Why'd you attack Onii-chan?"

The brown-haired boy just continued toward him, that same blank look in his eyes.

Taichi reached Yamato and stood there, looking down at both of them.

Yamato suddenly jumped up in angrily and grabbed Taichi by his shirt.

"Taichi! Why the Hell did you do that?"

Yamato pushed Taichi to the ground.

"Answer me, before I lose my patience!"

Taichi just sat there, looking up at him. And then Taichi said: "Don't worry Yamato. He set me straight. He's all yours."

Taichi smiled as he said it, but his words dripped with disdain.

"Alright then!" Sora said from where she sat on a rock. "Can we get going then before big, tall, and ugly comes back?"

&&&

Yamato held Koushiro tightly to him.

After Taichi explained how Izzy-Koi had turned him down, they had gone and picked him up, deciding to continue through the forest.

But the most important thing was that HE had Koushiro!

Not that shit-eyed jackass with a bush for hair! HIM!

Yamato continued dragging Izzy-Koi through the forest, watching him closely.

He seemed pretty depressed, but that was probably from nearly being defiled by that Psycho!

Come to think of it, Taichi seemed pretty depressed too.

But THAT was probably from being turned down.

And who wouldn't be depressed?

His Izzy-Koi was HOT! HOT! HOT!

"So exactly where are we going?" asked the blonde girl Mimi

"We're looking for some kind of civilization to maybe find an embassy." Jyou answered her.

Yamato noticed that Jyou seemed pretty responsible. It was an admirable quality.

"Hey Tai, what's an embassy?" the dinosaur, Agumon asked. He didn't get an answer.

"Hey Tai! TAI!" The dinosaur shouted.

"H-huh? What?" Taichi seemed confused

"Hey Tai. What's up? You're acting kind of strange." Sora asked.

"Nothing's up. I'm just tired is all."

Yamato grinned, knowing the real reason.

"Come to think of it, we should probably find a place to sleep. I don't think any of us considered that we'd actually have to spend the night. Maybe a cave?" Responsible Jyou suggested.

"Not necessary." Sora stated, "Look! We're almost out of the forest!"

The redhead pointed to an opening further down the path, where light poured into the forest.

"Come on Izzy-Koi! Let's go!" Yamato said as he and the others started running towards the opening.

Yamato was the first there, and what he saw was amazing! They were on top of a hill, which lead down to a huge lake! But that wasn't even the most amazing thing. There was a Trolley right next to the lake!

It looked like they'd have a place to sleep after all.

&&&

Takeru sat next to Koushiro, keeping a leash on his secret hatred.

After they had discovered a TROLLEY of all things in the middle of this crazy place, the others were off gathering fruit and firewood while Takeru and Koushiro, with some prodding from Yamato, had been appointed to go fishing.

They were now sitting on the side of a stream, with their fishing poles dipped in the water.

So far they hadn't caught anything, but he figured it was 'cause they'd only JUST gotten rid of Gomamon, who felt the need to goof off.

But he was pretty nice, so Takeru had no problems with him…unless he got between Yamato and his brother, like Koushiro had seemed too.

But despite being a plague on his life, Takeru still wondered what had happened between Koushiro, Taichi and Yamato that was causing him to act so distant.

"Hey Koushiro!"

The redhead seemed like he'd been startled out of his sleep.

"W-what?"

"Why are you acting so weird?"

"What are you talking about?" The redhead was a bad liar

"Ever since that Monochromon attacked us, you've been acting weird."

"I don't know what you're talking about"" Koushiro seriously sucked at lying.

Takeru had to do something drastic to get the truth out of him. They wouldn't get anywhere like this.

"KOUSHIRO!" Takeru grabbed the redhead's shoulders and began shaking him.

"You can trust me! If it's about Yamato, I won't tell him! But if we get attacked, this Weird-ass behavior is GOING TO GET US ALL KILLED!"

Koushiro's face seemed to soften at these words, and then his eyes began to water.

_Oh God! He's crying! This must be BIG!_

Koushiro leaned forward and began crying into Takeru's shoulder. The blonde boy propped his rod on a rock to keep it stable and held Koushiro, caressing his hair, anything to get the truth out of him. They remained like that for about ten minutes before Koushiro was out of tears.

"See? Doesn't that feel a lot better?" Takeru cooed, "Now tell me what happened."

"It all started back at the camp," Koushiro began "I had a fight with your brother."

Takeru remembered all too well what his Onii-chain seemed to have forgotten. The fight that sent Koushiro and Yamato into the forest, the last place they'd been before getting transported to this weird place.

"Anyway, I was running into the forest and I literally RAN into Taichi. I was so upset that I just sort of spilled my guts about everything! How suffocated Yamato was making me feel-"

Takeru's fist clenched at the mention of his brother in a negative light. He was ungrateful for all the attention that should've been going to HIM? He didn't know how lucky he was.

"-And how my parents' secret was tearing me up inside-"

"Secret? What secret?" This caught Takeru's attention.

"Uh…well…Maybe you're a little too young to know."

"I can handle it! Don't you trust me? After all, I'm mature enough to know what my brother's done to you behind closed doors."

Koushiro gave a satisfying blush at the mention of this and decided to continue.

"Okay, Okay. But you have to keep this an ABSOLUTE secret! From Yamato too."

Takeru nodded his head enthusiastically.

"I swear on Pata-chan's future evolutions!"

"Okay. The truth is, I'm adopted."

"What?"

"Yup. My real parents died in a car accident and my adoptive parents never told me. But I've never told them that I know. It's a mutual betrayal."

Takeru felt sympathy for Koushiro. His parents may be split up, but at least they were still alive.

"I'm so sorry."

"Don't be. They're good parents, aside from the fact they've turned my life into a giant lie."

"So what happened after your massive gut spilling?" Takeru prodded.

"Well…uh…Taichi kissed me."

Takeru's mouth dropped open about three feet.

"Yeah. That's right. And then I started kissing him back. And it sort of continued after we came here."

Takeru's mind was racing. Koushiro was having an affair? Perfect innocent little Koushiro was doing the dirty behind his brother's back. Those were the first thoughts that came to Takeru's mind. But then he began to realize the unbelievable opportunity he had.

"But wait. That doesn't explain what happened after the monochromon's attack."

"Well, Tai was crying and I was dying. And then Tai was so happy that I was alive that he tried to kiss me and your brother saw."

"No way!"

"Way. So, I got really scared and started running into the woods and before I knew what was happening, Tai broke it off 'cause he thought my breakdown was his fault."

_Damn! There goes a golden opportunity. Unless…_

"So was it?" the blonde boy asked

"What?"

"His fault. You know, Taichi?"

"Oh. No. It was my fault."

"And do you have feelings for him?"

"Yeah. At least I think so."

Takeru grabbed Koshiro's shoulders and shook him again.

"Stop thinking! Have some balls and follow your heart for once! If you really care about this guy more than my brother and think you have a future with him then fix it already!"

"B-But-"

"No buts! Except for yours going to apologize to Taichi!"

"But what about your brother?"

"Leave him to me!" Takeru stated passionately, now that he'd managed to successfully initiate a break up between Koushiro and his brother.

"Really?" Koushiro asked

"Really! Don't you worry."

"Thanks Takeru, this talk really helped. You really are mature for your age."

Koushiro surprised Takeru by hugging him, making HIM blush.

"Now." Koushiro said, grabbing Takeru's fishing rod from the rock that held it, "Let's see what you caught."

The rod came up with one GIGANTIC fish, at least 3 feet long, and a bunch of 1-foot long fish that had bitten into the larger fish still attached to it.

"I guess those fish aren't the only ones who'll be eating tonight." Koushiro joked.

And then The 2 boys shared a laugh at that comment, a genuine laugh free of lies, resentment, and hidden agendas.

&&&

Koushiro awoke to a trolley filled with sleeping teenagers, and Takeru.

After their successful fishing expedition, everyone had eaten well that night.

Koushiro had tried to talk to Taichi at dinner, but the oblivious Yamato had blocked him at every turn, proving he was blatantly back to his possessive ways.

Lucky for the redhead, they had decided to post a watch to make sure everyone was alerted to any more dangers resembling the ones they'd already faced.

Taichi had first watch and it was the perfect opportunity to talk to him. So, when nobody was looking, Koushiro had timed his cell phone to vibrate about twenty minutes after the watch started.

The redhead stood up quietly and made his way towards the front of the bus.

Koushiro opened the door, which made an irritating screech as it swung away from the trolley.

Koushiro jumped right out and took off running down the hill, for once following his heart, which was pumping with blood and adrenaline.

The wind rushed across Koushiro's face and hair as he neared the fire and a certain bush of brown hair came into view.

_Almost there _

Koushiro felt both thrilled and scared. He never had to take a chance for love, what with Yamato always controlling him. But it's not like he had a lot of opportunities either what with him being ostracized by his school for being gay. Would they ostracize Taichi? Would his life be worse without Yamato's protection? He didn't want to think anymore. He just wanted to lose himself in this feeling.

Koushiro skidded to a stop in front of the fire, taking a second to catch his breath.

"Hey Koushiro. I don't think it's your watch yet, feel free to go back to sleep." A familiar voice said.

Koushiro stood up and saw the familiar brown-eyed boy sitting next to the orange dinosaur Agumon.

"Hi Koushiro!" The dinosaur greeted, enthusiastic as always.

"H-Hi Agumon!" Koushiro answered, finally catching his breath.

"If you came to keep me company I don't need it. Agumon's here."

"I didn't come to keep you company. I came to talk to you."

"Oh. Okay. Hey Agumon! Take a walk!"

"Are you going to try and eat Koushiro again?" the Dinosaur asked.

"Don't worry." Taichi answered

Koushiro felt a pang of discouragement at the bitterness in those words, but he just thought of Takeru's words and decided he had to go ahead now that he was here.

Agumon began walking off over the hill, and that's when Taichi turned to face him.

"Look, Koushiro. I know why you're here."

"Y-You do?" Koushiro asked, slightly surprised.

"Yeah. And it's fine. You're trying to clear the air about our "Break-up", trying to rationalize to me why you want to be with Yamato. You don't have to, we can still be friends and I won't bother you again. I can understand you wanting to keep your distance from me; God knows everyone else in my life does. I'm a basket case, a Psycho, and you could never be with a psycho like me-"

Koushiro couldn't bear to hear this anymore! It was too much!

"Taichi shut up!"

The brown eyes seemed taken aback, and he stopped talking.

"LOOK! I could care less about you being a psycho! In fact, I'm probably crazy myself! I don't care if you push other people away 'cause you sure as Hell won't push me away! I like how offbeat and care free you! I like how you put passion into everything! And I like how you actually care about what I have to say and what I think! You're a great guy! And I would actually be proud to have you as a boyfriend because I actually care about you, you BIG STUPID JERK!"

Koushiro looked up to see the reaction on Taichi's face. Taichi just stared at him like he was crazy.

Koushiro had gotten his answer: Taichi had rejected him. Yamato had been right; he was the only one who could care about someone like Koushiro. Someone shy and timid, whose risk had failed miserably.

The redhead clamped his eyes shut to block the tears welling up in his eyes. His body was now shaking, fighting to keep the tears inside.

"I'm Sorry!" Koushiro shouted to Taichi, hoping to fix his mistake, "I'm Sorry! I shouldn't have done this! I should never take risks. I should just stick to computers and academics. But you're the only friend I've ever had and I don't want to lose you. Please don't hate me."

Koushiro heard footsteps coming towards him. Probably coming to beat him up like the other kids at school would when Yamato wasn't around. But unlike then, this time he probably deserved it.

And that's why Koushiro was surprised when he felt a weight against his chest and a pair of arms wrapping around his back.

_W…What?_

Koushiro opened his eyes to see that same bush of brown hair, attached to the head on his shoulder.

Koushiro blinked away tears in confusion. Didn't Taichi hate him?

"You know, Koushiro, anyone who knows you well probably appreciates your quick wit and intelligent mind. But me, I think those people, Yamato included, must be the biggest idiots in the world for not seeing your beautiful heart."

"Oh, Taichi…" Koushiro said as he wrapped his arms around Taichi's neck, "I'm such an idiot." Koushiro's tears dripped onto Taichi's shoulder.

"I know." He sighed, "But you're MY idiot."

Koushiro smiled and he could sense Taichi was smiling too as they were lost in the embrace.

&&&

Yamato carefully jumped out of the bus door he had found open only minutes before.

He had assessed that Koushiro was gone from the bus and put 2 and 2 together, deciding to follow.

Takeru smiled too himself.

Koushiro had departed before Yamato, leaving enough time in between to apologize to Taichi and make up.

But what if they hadn't made up yet? What if Koushiro had messed it up somehow?

He probably had, knowing his social awkwardness.

Maybe Takeru could stall Yamato if he followed. It was worth a shot to have his brother back.

Takeru dropped off the bus bench he had been pretending to sleep on.

Takeru made his way to the bus entrance, being even more careful not to step on the splayed arms and legs of his companions, human and non-human.

Damn it. If only he had longer legs like Koushiro or Yamato. He wouldn't have to be as careful sneaking away.

The blonde boy finally made it to the Bus' open door. YES!

Takeru walked forward some more to make the jump out and tripped, falling hard onto the cold ground. Takeru suppressed tears that stemmed from the pain he was feeling. He had to stop Yamato from ruining his plan.

Takeru spotted the blonde's hair on the horizon.

He looked frozen. God only knew what he was seeing, hopefully nothing to graphic.

Takeru had to do something to stop him from ruining things, and that's when he spotted a crab crawling across the ground.

THAT'S IT!

Takeru grabbed the crab by the shell and prepared to throw it.

"Hey! LEMME GO!"

Takeru kept his grip on the crab, despite his sudden surprise.

"W-Who said that?" Takeru asked no one in particular, scanning the area, hoping he wouldn't be caught.

"Me! Ganimon! Now LEMME GO!"

Takeru realized the crab was the one talking. It must've been a Digimon.

An evil smile crossed the blonde boy's face.

"Oh, don't worry. I will."

And then Takeru threw the crab it Yamato with all his might.

The crab locked its claw onto Yamato's perfect hair, and he started struggling to pull it off. But Apparently Ganimon was stronger than a normal crab.

Takeru started laughing! It was just too funny! That is, until Yamato whirled around, anger in his eyes.

"Who the Hell's there?" Yamato called, finally pulling the crab off his head.

Takeru luckily had the cover of night to prevent Yamato from seeing him. Too bad he couldn't stop laughing.

"Fine! If you think it's so funny then you can have this back!"

Yamato threw the crab straight at Takeru, making a direct hit. Takeru felt dizzy from the impact. The crab's shell was hard as rock. Takeru couldn't tell up from down, everything was spinning.

And then the ground disappeared.

Air rapidly rushed at the back of his body, and then he felt nothing but water around him. Everything was still spinning.

_Come on Takeru! Pull yourself together! You have to if you want your Onii-chan back! PULL IT TOGETHER1_

Takeru closed his eyes and opened them again, forcing everything back into focus.

What he saw filled him with horror. There was sand below him, fish around him, and water everywhere! And then he saw that same crab he threw at Yamato. It had an evil grin on its human-looking face, at least human in the sense that he had a person's eyes and mouth. They both sent chills down his spine.

The crab swam right up to his face. And then it spoke again:

"GANIMON SHINKA!"

Golden rays of light shot out of the crab's body, blinding Takeru.

&&&

Taichi heard a splash that startled him out of his embrace with Koushiro.

What the Hell? Would the interruptions never end?

Taichi and Koushiro turned toward the noise and both saw the surface of the lake break with a splash.

Taichi looked in the direction Agumon had walked.

"AGUMON!" Taichi called. Nobody answered. "AGUMON!"

Still no answer

Taichi turned back towards the lake to see what was breaking the water. It appeared to be a large green snake with a white stomach, adorned with the same kind of red markings that were on Monochromon. It also had blue eyes, and its head looked like a yellow helmet.

The Snake thing let out a soul-shattering roar, the kind Taichi's mother made when his room wasn't clean.

The Snake seemed to glare at Koushiro and Taichi and began making his way towards them, wading through the water menacingly.

"BABY FLAME!"

A pint-sized fireball hit the snake, right in the face, knocking him back a few feet.

The orange dinosaur ran up, standing between Taichi and Koushiro.

"Sorry I'm late. I was taking care of…some personal business."

"Gross." Koushiro said, making an adorably disgusted face.

"But not that you're here," the redhead continued, " Hit him with another fireball! Aim for the neck!"

Agumon turned to Taichi, "What he said! Go for it Agumon!"

The orange dinosaur walked towards the edge of the lake for a better range.

"BABY FLAME!"

Agumon launched another fireball, and Taichi could tell it was going to hit the neck. However that's when the Snake revealed its tail, and a certain familiar blonde-headed boy locked tightly in it, gasping for air.

NO!

The Snake moved its tail into the path of the fireball, which hit Takeru, 'causing him a cry of pain.

Damn it! What kind of monster uses human shields?

"Agumon! Stop attacking!" Taichi called running forward.

"We don't want him getting hurt." Added Koushiro.

"So then what do we do?" asked the orange dinosaur.

Good question.

The Snake began approaching them again. What could they do?

"AIR SHOT!" A familiar voice called.

The snake was knocked back another few feet.

Taichi turned towards the source of the voice and saw everyone who should've been sleeping in the Trolley. Except Yamato. Where the Hell was Yamato? Out of everyone, he at least should've bothered to come see his brother being choked by the creature from the black lagoon.

"TAICHI! What the Hell is going?" Sora asked as she angrily skidded down the hill.

"I have absolutely NO idea!" The brunette answered.

"So basically, the same as usual?" Mimi asked jokingly.

"Look! All I know is, I was on watch here when this giant Snake-"

"Seadramon." interrupted Tentomon, Koushiro's slightly irritating digimon.

"-Seadramon showed up with Takeru wrapped up like a Christmas gift!"

"How'd he get that way?" Jyou asked.

"How should I know? He probably snuck out for one reason or another."

Koushiro suddenly stiffened, and not in the good way. Was he hiding something? Taichi would ask later. They had bigger problems right now.

"By the way, where's Yamato?" Taichi asked.

"He was gone when we woke up." Jyou stated.

A loud moan cut off their conversation. Everyone turned towards Seadramon to see Yamato climbing up Seadramon's back.

So that's where he was. One mystery solved, now about a dozen left.

&&&

Yamato swam through the water, watching the snake-like body of this weird creature.

This was turning into a really bad day.

Yamato had left the bus to find his missing Koushiro and found him getting felt up by Taichi! That rat-bastard!

He was so going to get his shit-eyed ass kicked later!

Unfortunately he couldn't do it right then because this freakish snake-monster had somehow managed to kidnap his little brother.

He would ask Takeru later after recovering from the disorienting sting of jumping into water from a tall height.

Yamato swam closer and closer to the snake monster. It was writhing and shaking violently.

_Hold on little bro. I'm coming_

Yamato was finally close enough to grab on to it! He wrapped his arms and legs around it, keeping a tight grip on its body.

Yamato could feel its slimy skin on his bare arms, were he not wearing gloves, he knew he'd fall off.

_All right. Here I go._

Yamato made his way up the Snake's tail, which was holding his little brother as a human shield.

Yamato popped his head above the surface of the water. Good. He could breath again. Yamato continued scaling the Snake's tail, until he was near the top of the tail. Right next to Takeru.

Takeru spotted him and smiled. "Onii-chan, you came."

Did Takeru really think he wouldn't come?

"Of course I came! We're brothers, and that means if you're in mortal danger I'm here to save you."

"Onii-chan. I'm so happy." He answered

Happy? He was happy about being a human shield that slowly being suffocated to death?

"Don't talk anymore. You're wasting precious oxygen. Hold on, I'll get you out."

Yamato pulled out his secret weapon: a Swiss army knife. The benefit of an alcoholic father who was overly macho enough to enroll his son in boy scouts.

Yamato raised the knife and plunged it into the tail, drawing blood and a cry of anger from the snake.

The tail opened up, releasing Takeru, who began free falling towards the lake.

"Takeru!" Yamato called out.

"I've got him!" Called Patamon, who grabbed Takeru by the collar, flying him back to dry land.

"Thank Goodness." The blonde teen sighed. It was kind of moot to save someone if they ended up dying quicker because of you.

Yamato suddenly felt a crushing pain on his lungs.

What the?

Yamato looked down and saw the tail now wrapped around him. Apparently the snake had noticed the one cutting him and got pissed. Well, at least he'd managed to save Takeru.

Yamato heard his name being called and looked towards the shore. Everyone was calling for him. It was useless, though. Whatever this thing was, it was unlikely that it cared about such sentiment. Yamato would probably die watching everyone's worried faces. But what about after he was gone? What would happen once he was dead? As much as he detested Taichi and cared for Koushiro, he couldn't overlook the others:

Kind, Beautiful Sora

Sweet, Optimistically blond Mimi

Nice, reliable Jyou

His own Brother

And Gabumon.

_Gabumon_

"Gabumon," Yamato sighed as things began getting darker with the loss of oxygen.

"Yamato!" The dog-like creature cried out.

That burning feeling returned to Yamato's pocket the pocket that held this strange device. A shower of golden energy beams left Yamato's pocket and hit Gabumon in an explosion of golden light.

"GABUMON SHINKA!"

Yamato's dizzy eyes fond Gabumon, who looked about 3 times bigger. He still had the same fur, but now he looked more vicious and wolf-like. He had gleaming yellow eyes and large fangs.

"GARURUMON!"

He looked so cool.

The great wolf walked towards the edge of the lake and opened his massive mouth.

"FOX FIRE!"

A stream of blue fire left Garurumon's mouth, heading for the Snake's face.

The Snake lifted Yamato up as a human shield, however the fire burned right through the Tail hitting The Monster's yellow face. It was pretty Damn Hot. Yamato felt it beneath him, at least until he was falling towards the lake.

Something soft broke his fall. Yamato looked down and saw blue fur.

"Gabumon," Yamato giggled, "You smell like wet dog."

As the blonde heard the sounds of literal dog paddling, he looked back where the snake had been and swore he saw a burnt crab swimming towards the other side of the lake.

And that was the last sight Yamato saw before allowing himself to fall asleep.

&&&

Rustling trees

A bright sun

A familiar pair of cheerful blue eyes

These were the sights that awaited Yamato as he awoke under a tree with a view over-looking the lake.

"H-Huh? What am I doing here?" the disoriented Yamato asked

"Here? We brought you up to this hill to give you some rest after your heroics last night." Takeru answered.

"Oh. So if I'm resting here, than what are you doing here?"

"Me? I just came to see if you were awake yet and thank you again for saving me.

"Oh. No problem, that's what brothers are for."

"So are you ready to go?"

"Go" Yamato was confused

"Yup. We're leaving the Lake before that ugly snake, Seadramon, comes back. So are you ready?"

"Tell you what. Just give me a few more minutes of rest, okay?"

"Alright!" Takeru ran over to the edge of the hilltop "And thanks again 'Nii-Chan!"

Yamato offered a small smile as Takeru went running down the hill to undoubtedly join the others.

After a few minutes, Yamato got up and walked over to the Hilltop's edge and scanned the busy area until he spotted Taichi sitting with Koushiro under a tree. Taichi had an arm around Koushiro's shoulder.

Yamato, for the first time in years, felt no anger attached to his sadness. And from the bottom of his heart, he shed a single tear. Crying was also something he hadn't done in years.

The single tear hit the ground, bringing about a fizzing sound.

The blonde looked down and saw where the tear had fallen, there was now a bubbling blue-white energy that twisted and writhed on the ground, until it formed itself into a Harmonica.

_A Harmonica?_

Yamato hadn't played one in years, since before his parents' divorce. His father thought that music was for weaklings.

Yamato raised the instrument to his mouth and inexplicably began to play, a melody from his heart that echoed for miles around, signifying his Heart, which was submerging into a feeling darker and colder than the waters he'd swam.

* * *

I dedicate this chapter to Kayla (Rokutagrl) who gave me some great ideas and helped inspire some pretty big parts of this chapter (The campfire scene and the fishing scene, for example)! I decided to do a long chapter and I think a set a personal record! I was just having so much fun with it and I hope you had fun too! New Chapter coming soon! BYE!


	9. Heads Of Red And Hearts Of Darkness

Koushiro looked up.

The same.

Koushiro looked down.

The same.

_Where am I?_

Koushiro whirled around and saw Yamato a few feet away.

The redhead tried to shift his body, hoping to reach Yamato, but found he couldn't move from where he floated.

Yamato was the ONLY familiar thing about this place.

Everywhere else he saw thick darkness; shimmering, shifting walls of darkness surrounding him. It looked endless in both directions up and down. Koushiro suddenly realized he was inside a tunnel.

The redhead looked back towards the unconscious, floating Yamato. Maybe if he called to him?

"HEY! YAMATO!"

Nothing. Yamato wasn't moving at all. He didn't even appear to be breathing.

Did that mean he was…dead? Koushiro shook those thoughts from his dead. No, he couldn't be dead. He may've just been drugged.

But that left the question of where they were.

Koushiro closed his eyes in the hopes that shutting out the surrounding atmosphere would help him think more calmly and rationally.

The redhead's clear mind soon realized that he knew this place. He'd been here before when they'd fallen off that cliff. And when he'd asked for help then, Taichi had come to save him, so if he asked now-

"Hey, Sugar Lips!" A familiar voice said.

Koushiro looked up as a sharp golden ray of light pierced through the endless darkness. It was amazing. A manhole-sized vortex opened up and a chocolate hand reached through.

Perfect! Now if he could just save Yamato too! Koushiro looked over and saw that Yamato was gone.

Where was he?

Koushiro looked down and saw Yamato, blonde hair all, unconscious as ever.

Yamato!

"Decide now, Koushiro!" The familiar voice boomed, causing Koushiro to look back up at the hand in the vortex.

"Either let me save you or be dragged down into the darkness."

Koushiro thought about it and was still unsure about which one he would effectively choose. How did he know the voice would really save him?

"Look! You'll have to learn to trust me sooner or later! Have I given you any reason to doubt me?"

He had a point there. Koushiro reached up and grabbed the hand, causing a blinding light to envelop everything.

Koushiro blinked once.

Koushiro blinked twice.

He was now standing in a large room with a maroon marbled floor, a large completely filled book-case to his right, to his left was a large window stretching from floor to ceiling filled with the starry night sky, straight ahead was a large fireplace, which was burning brightly, and behind-

A strong pair of arms wrapped around Koushiro's waist.

"Guess who?" a familiar voice said.

Heat rose up into Koushiro's cheeks.

The redhead turned around in the embrace to find he was pressed up against Taichi, who was wearing a green cotton bathrobe with a black satin belt and a golden Paw-print on his upper-left pocket.

"T-Taichi. What are you doing?"

"Come on, don't tell me you don't like it." Taichi said, rubbing himself up and down against Koushiro.

Blood began rushing to that certain area, and as much as Koushiro WAS enjoying this-

"Taichi let me go!" Koushiro called as he pushed lightly against Taichi's chest, breaking away from the embrace.

"Fine. Not my fault if you don't wanna have steamy dream sex." Tai retorted

Heat rose to Koushiro's cheeks, "D-D-Dream? This is a dream?

"Well, not exactly. And that's why I'm here! Remember the last time you were here, I gave you the courage you needed?"

"Yeah." The redhead answered, remembering the armor-clad Taichi.

"Well this time I'm here to give you something new! I'm going to give you the benefit of my knowledge."

Koushiro stared for a second…and then busted out laughing.

An irritated look crossed Taichi's face.

"Hey! What's so damn funny?"

Koushiro was laughing so hard now he was out of breath.

"Hey!" Taichi's vein was now throbbing in an obvious anime fashion.

Koushiro finally managed to catch his breath. Did he even have breath here?

"G-Gomen, Taichi. It's just, I'm pretty well learned and you don't exactly have, how shall I put it, academic excellence?"

"Hey! I work hard for my C's and B's just like any average guy. But anyway, I'm getting off subject. Now let's see…"

Taichi snapped his fingers and, like Magic, if it existed, a large black hole appeared in the tile floor.

"What the Hell?" Koushiro was only mildly surprised, considering this was a dream.

"Just wait! It gets better." Taichi snapped his fingers again.

Koushiro's eyes widened.

Where the hole had been a few seconds ago, there was now a large, dark blue armchair with an Agumon pattern on it.

Just Taichi's style.

"Voila!" Taichi said, walking over to the chair. He plopped down and let out a sigh.

"That's much better. Now, Koushiro, if you'll join me so I can inform you…" Taichi said, patting his leg.

Heat shot straight up into Koushiro's face, turning his face as red as his hair.

"Well…that is…Um…Taichi…" Koushiro muttered incoherently.

"Damn it, Koushiro!" Taichi shouted at him, slightly irritated, "This is YOUR dream! Take advantage of it! Now, come sit in papa Taichi's lap." He grinned wolfishly.

Koushiro shrugged his shoulders and walked cautiously over to the chair, watching Taichi's face.

His eyes seemed to sparkle with an odd gleam.

Once Koushiro reached the chair, Taichi grabbed Koushiro's wrist and pulled the redhead down into his lap, draping Koushiro's legs over the arm of the chair.

"Now…" Taichi purred, stroking Koushiro's hair lovingly "I'm here to give you my special brand of Taichi wisdom."

"Okay, Okay. But before that, I have a question." Koushiro said.

"Go ahead my little genius." Taichi said with a smile, continuing to stroke Koushiro's hair.

"What was that place? And what happened to Yamato?"

"You mean what's HAPPENING to Yamato." Taichi corrected, "And both of those questions have the same answer: You."

"Me?"

"YUP! He knows about us, and right now he's sinking into a dark hole of depression. I wouldn't say it's BOTTOMLESS, just REALLY, REALLY, REALLY deep."

A pang of guilt struck Koushiro. He'd done that to Yamato? He didn't know he'd have THAT much of an effect.

"Oh don't worry, Koushiro. He doesn't 'KNOW', deep down he just knows. And just so you know, it's NOT your fault. He doesn't even LOVE you. You're just the only consistent thing in his life since his parents' divorce."

Koushiro's mouth hung agape. How'd he know about the divorce? Hell, how'd he know what he'd been thinking?

"Don't be so surprised Koushiro. You have no idea how open your mind is to me. Of Course, if you'd like to become even MORE open to me…" Taichi purred seductively, using his free hand to rub Koushiro's thigh.

"Taichi you're such a pervert!" Koushiro giggled.

"You know you love it."

"Yeah. But I'll take a pass for now. So is that the wisdom you wanted to share with me?"

Taichi stared at him for a second and then seemed to remember.

"Oh yeah! Right! So anyway, you need to know something about this place."

"What? Isn't it a dream?"

"It's partly a dream, but it's also your state of mind. It's your emotions. YOU created this place."

Koushiro's mouth hung agape once again.

"As adorable as I think that look is, you really need to try and be less shocked until I finish explaining.

"Oh. Sorry." Koushiro said, blushing.

"It's okay. I'd be shocked too if I didn't have to live here. That reminds me! Next time you come here, how about dreaming me up a Widescreen TV. There's only one thing to do here and it AIN'T sewing!"

That blush crept back into Koushiro's face.

"B-But, how did I create it?"

"You know where you are right now?" Taichi asked.

Koushiro nodded, knowing what he was referring to.

"This place has the power to manifest your emotions."

"Manifest…my emotions?"

"You've got it! This place was born from your fear and anxiety. And now that you're feeling it again, those emotions are feeding this personal world of yours. But luckily, your feelings for ME have allowed me to be here to protect you whenever you're unfortunate enough to come here."

"So then that means you're-"

"Yup! All I am is the way you see Taichi. But thanks to your emotions, I'm just as real as he his. That's why I can do this!"

Taichi leaned towards the redhead's face and licked his cheek, like a big affectionate dog.

Koushiro fell out of Taichi's lap, his face burning from his shy disposition.

Koushiro pushed himself onto his, knees, kneeling before Taichi. Black eyes met honey eyes.

"So what's next? You're planning on bringing me Perviness along with the courage and wisdom?"

Taichi just stared blankly at him for a second. Then his mouth opened wide and he shouted, "KOUSHIRO!"

"What?" The redhead asked.

"KOUSHIRO!"

"What?"

"KOUSHIRO!"

**Chapter 7**

Koushiro's black eyes revealed themselves behind a pair of Moonlight pale eyelids.

Tai was crouched over Izzy as he woke up.

"Good Morning Moonshine,"

Tai cooed, a grin on his face.

"Don't you mean 'Good Morning Starshine'? You know, like the song?"

"No, you're as pale and beautiful as the moon, so it seemed to fit better."

"Taichi, Moonshine is alcohol."

"And I'm drunk on you. It all fits, see?"

Koushiro grinned, "Taichi, you're so cheesy."

"You know you love it."

Taichi and Koushiro grinned at each other.

_Good! The break-up was going according to plan. But there won't BE a plan if these guys have their way _Takeru thought as he turned back to face the weird creatures that were now threatening them.

So apparently, that crab, Ganimon, or Seadramon, or Ganimon again, considering they'd won the battle, had friends. He'd told said friends about his serious ass frying, so they'd signed up for a lynching. And for some reason, said friends looked like turtles with crazy pink hair and beaks, knives for front flippers, green spiked shells, and yellow tails.

"Pata-chan, what are those?" Takeru asked his orange friend.

"Those are Archelomon. Usually they're really calm and gentle, but they're fiercely loyal to their friends and don't take grudges lying down."

Great. A Digimon Mafia.

Sora, Yamato, and Jyou stood between the crazy turtles and him, Taichi, Koushiro, and Mimi who was on the ground weeping into Palmon's shoulder about 'Being too young to die'. At least she'd had her teenage years! Takeru was only 12 for god's sake!

If only they hadn't decided to take a rest. But they'd been up ALL NIGHT fighting that stupid snake.

And the ambiance was PERFECT. The sun shining in the sky, the smooth dirt road beneath them, and the forest, which hung quietly with the only sound being an occasional breeze…that is, until these jerks had decided to show up and ruin things.

Gomamon left Jyou's side to move a little closer to the mutant turtles.

"Please! Why do we have to settle this with violence?" the seal asked the turtles.

"Shut up!" the lead turtle shouted, "You're a traitor to your fellow Sea Digimon! Attacking Seadramon and siding with these disgusting creatures!"

"HEY!' said the familiar voice of a girl with dirty blond hair, who had suddenly stopped crying.

Mimi stood up, inadvertently knocking Palmon down, and began stomping angrily towards the turtles, pushing through Sora and Yamato.

"Just What the HELL do you mean by disgusting? I've been voted prettiest girl in school every year since Middle School and you call ME disgusting? I'm Mimi Tachikawa, Godammit and I will NOT be insulted by a piece of smelly, vulgar, trash from the clearance bin at HOT TOPIC!"

And then, to ice her cake of extreme anger, Mimi lifted her foot right up and kicked the lead turtle a good two yards into the forest.

"Our leader!" One of the turtles called out, stunned.

Minus the leader, Takeru now counted seven.

"FIN CUTTER!" One of the turtles attacked with its knife fin, swinging wildly at Mimi, who, having lost her nerve, was running away.

Looks like popular girls were vicious enough when insulted, but not vicious enough for knife fights.

The turtles began waddling forward.

"Get Ready!" Jyou called

Gomamon moved back towards Jyou, and then shifted around to face the turtles.

"FIRE!" Jyou commanded.

"GOMAFUAZARASHI BLAST!"

Gomamon shot that same stream of white energy bubbles from his claws that he'd demonstrated at the beach.

The wide stream of energy bubbles seemed to be stopping the turtles, despite their armor. They were too stunned to move under the pops and stings of Gomamon's energy.

"NOW!" Jyou ordered, still in his new leadership role, "PIYOMON! GABUMON!"

The pink bird and the strange blue dog walked up, standing by the seal, Gomamon, who had now ceased fire.

"MAGICAL FIRE"

"PETIT FIRE!"

The 2 Digimon simultaneously launched their attacks; forming a wall of blue and green fire in front the turtles.

"What now?" Takeru asked, curious how long the blue-haired boy could sustain this newfound bravery.

"Now," Jyou began "WE RUN!"

The blue-haired boy grabbed Gomamon's fin and took off.

Takeru took off running, Taichi and Koushiro coming into his sight.

Taichi suddenly grabbed Koushiro's wrist and took off running, Koushiro half running and half being dragged.

Good. If nothing else went right that day, at least the plan could continue.

&&&

_He's touching me! He's really touching me! _Were the only coherent thoughts that ran through Sora's head.

After just about the LONGEST night of her life, things had really been going downhill. And now they were running through a forest being chased by a group of super EMO turtles with bad attitudes.

_At times like these I wish I could freeze people with the ice in my heart_ Sora thought bitterly to herself.

But YAMATO was touching her! He was dragging her along, running for dear life, but it was a start, right?

Didn't it mean there was some that wasn't completely repulsed by her?

Or maybe she was just fooling herself again.

The redheaded girl was now keeping pace with Yamato. Girls could be JUST as fast as guys no matter what anyone said. She'd personally proven that when she'd kicked Himura Tezuka's ass in a particularly memorable game, where she'd scored the winning goal.

Who said girls were the weaker sex?

But then again, this philosophy was probably part of what kept the guys away.

"OCEANSTORM!"

Sora suddenly felt like somebody had punched her HARD in the back. Except it was wet. A wet punch in the back.

Sora looked back and saw the Turtles were now pursuing them through the forest. CRAP!

"Hey Guys!" Sora called "Anyone have a plan?"

Sora's eyes locked onto Koushiro and Taichi. Koushiro seemed to whisper something to Taichi. Did they have a secret?

Something STRANGE had definitely happened yesterday between Taichi, Yamato, and Koushiro. But what?

"Okay!" Called Taichi "Here's the plan: Agumon!"

The orange dinosaur turned his head as he ran beside the two boys.

"Yeah?"

"I want you to launch a fireball at those turtles! Make it the biggest one you've ever done! Got it?"

"Got it!"

The redhead beckoned Patamon towards him. The flying orange creature landed on his shoulder. They looked so cute together.

Koushiro seemed to whisper something to Patamon.

"So that's the plan!" she made out, "You got it?"

"GOT IT!"

The dinosaur stopped and the orange creature floated next to him.

"PATA-CHAN!" Called the concerned blond boy Takeru, who had a definite resemblance to his older brother.

Koushiro grabbed Takeru's wrist when he seemed to stop.

"It'll be alright! Just keep running for Patamon's sake!"

The boy seemed to comply, but Sora saw his eyes. She knew those eyes. The ones she'd see in the mirror whenever her mother blocked her from playing soccer. Forcing her to change out of those clothes.

Sora knew those eyes. They were eyes that held fear, anger…and resentment.

But what could a boy his age be resenting?

Sora heard someone cry out, and looked back.

Piyomon had tripped on a tree root and fallen to the ground.

"Piyomon!"

Sora broke away from Yamato's grasp.

"Sora!" She heard him call, however he kept running. Just like all the other guys.

Sora reached Piyomon and held her.

"Are you okay?" the redhead asked.

"I'm fine. But we've gotta hurry."

"Why?" Sora asked.

"BABY FLAME!"

"AIR SHOT!"

A massive wave of fire became visible as it swept away the trees.

_That's why_

Sora picked Piyomon up, ignoring how heavy she was, and ran like hell. She never stopped running, but she still felt the heat on her back.

Sora saw light breaking into the forest. An Opening!

The redhead took one giant leap and closed her eyes, letting the darkness steal everything away. Just like it always had.

* * *

Alright! Please leave lots of reviews! I had a lot of fun writing this chapter, but as usual it ended up writing itself! Make sure to keep Taishiro alive! And if you want a really good Taichiro story, read "Secret Inanities of the Yagami Kind", it's a really good story! Happy Valentines day everybody! :D


	10. Prayer in the Desert

Pain exploded everywhere in Sora's head.

_OW, OW, OW, OW, OW, OW_

Sora opened her eyes to examine the surroundings. A clear blue sky, lots of sand…and telephone poles?

What the Hell happened?

The redheaded girl realized there was something in her arms and looked down.

_PIYOMON!_

Sora pulled herself and the bird up into a sitting position.

The redhead looked to her left and saw that the explosion had blown the two of them about 20 feet from the woods.

There was no going back now.

Maybe the others would have a better solution?

Sora looked around, seeing no one.

Great! Now she was alone and her only options were the forest filled with weird-ass creatures and the scalding hot desert.

_Well, at least I've got Piyomon _Sora thought, looking down at the bird.

Come to think of it, why did Piyomon stick so close to her?

Or any of the Digimon for that matter?

Maybe they were just happy to have friends in this place, or protectors, or both.

But Piyomon especially was an odd case.

Sora had a cold and repellant personality. Why stick close to someone like that?

Unless you're Shuichi from Gravitation or Bella from Twilight. But Piyomon was smarter than that. She was kind and very loyal.

So why?

The Pink bird began to shift in Sora's arms.

A smile crossed the redhead's face.

_Just like a child_ Sora thought.

"S-Sora?" The bird asked, waking up.

"Yup. I'm right here. Everything's alright." Sora said, trying to be comforting.

The bird smiled back and nuzzled her head into Sora's shoulder

"Mmm. You're so warm. I love you Sora"

Sora felt a nerve struck somewhere deep inside her, and that familiar pain left by her mother, the cold and unfeeling mother who couldn't accept her.

Love? For Sora, it was an empty word. It didn't have any meaning to her.

Maybe it never did.

**Chapter 8**

Damn, Damn, Damn, Damn, Damn.

Why was this happening?

Why was everything going so WRONG?

Yamato's eyes watched Taichi lying unconscious.

That bastard. Who did he think was? Acting all confident and heroic!

Yamato knew the truth. He was a devil, trying to poison HIS Koushiro, a Tenshi, a perfectly beautiful angel that belonged to him alone.

The blonde smiled as he fantasized about walking over to Taichi and castrating him.

And he probably would have, had it not been for Mimi and Jyou sleeping only ten feet away.

All the screaming would probably wake them up anyway.

"Mmm. Koushiro." Taichi muttered as he slept.

A jolt of anger shot through Yamato. Taichi was DREAMING about Koushiro now? It was taking every inch of will power not to go over and beat the shit out of Taichi, just to get Koushiro out of his head. But on some level, Yamato really couldn't blame him.

Koushiro was so sweet and kind.

It was probably impossible to not fall in love with him. Well, at least for gay guys.

Yamato still remembered that fateful first day on the playground when he'd met Koushiro. You could say it was love at first sight.

His life had been perfect then.

Back before the divorce

Back before his father's alcoholism

Back before he received beatings for dating a guy

Quite possibly the only thing he'd never told Takeru, not wanting him to hate their father. It was a BIG sacrifice, but a kid like that sure deserved.

He was always so hopeful and cheerful; it was worth it to make sure that look never left Takeru's eyes.

Takeru seemed to be one of the only good things in his life. But he couldn't be there all the time, not like Koushiro could.

Yamato heard a loud yawning and looked over towards the source. Mimi was yawning and stretching her arms. Good. Now that she was waking up they could go look for Koushiro and the others.

"That sure was a great nap." Mimi commented to herself.

"Now, WAKE UP EVERYBODY!!!!"

Taichi and Jyou woke up with a start.

"Damn it, Mimi! Can't you wake people up in a gentler way?" Jyou whined.

It was kind of cute.

"Sorry!" Mimi apologized, rubbing the back of her head; "I spent a week in Osaka and caught their spirit!"

Taichi looked around and then a frown crossed his face

"Hey guys. Where are Sora, Koushiro, and Takeru?"

Mimi and Jyou stopped their fighting to look around, realizing he was right.

"Hey! You're right!" Mimi shouted catching on.

Yamato grinned as he watched through his thinly lidded eyes.

It was amusing how his comrades could get so wrapped up in what they were doing.

"Hey! Sleeping Beauty!" Taichi called as he kicked Yamato's stomach. Damn him.

Yamato fully opened his eyes and pretended to be confused.

"W-What? What's going on?"

It wouldn't look good if they found out he was eavesdropping.

"What's happening is: WE'RE THREE PEOPLE SHORT! And if we don't get moving, they're just going to get further and further AWAY!"

"Jeez, and you thought I was loud." Mimi commented to Jyou.

"Well, I was BORN with Osaka spirit!" Taichi said, flashing them a big shit-eating grin.

Well, if nothing else, Taichi at least had an admirable spirit, even if he was a boyfriend-stealing son of a bitch.

"Alright, then." Yamato said, changing his voice to a more cool and aloof tone, "I guess we'd better get going-"

A noise that sounded like crackling static was suddenly heard in Taichi's pocket.

"What the Hell is that?" the blonde boy asked confused.

Taichi reached into his pocket and pulled out one of the seven devices they'd all received upon coming to this place. They still had no idea what they were, but they seemed to help their digimon evolve into bigger and stronger forms.

"It's alright. Everything's alright" a voice said, quite clearly through the static and grainy screen of the device.

Yamato knew that voice.

"K-Koushiro?" Jyou stuttered.

&&&

Miles away, another pair of blue eyes opened to the sight of an endless sky above an endless desert.

"W-Where am I?" Takeru yawned.

The blond boy gazed at his surroundings. Nothing but sand for miles around, a few logs, some cactuses, a skeleton-

"A SKELETON?"

The blonde boy jumped back in fright. He'd never seen a skeleton before. Especially one like this, it had weird horns and its face was stretched into a disgusting sneer. How was that possible? Skeletons couldn't have expressions.

Once the initial shock wore off, Takeru was fascinated by what he saw. He walked up to it and examined its odd shape.

_I bet Koushiro would love this_ Takeru thought to himself, smiling at a non-hateful feeling towards Koushiro.

But then that smile turned back into frown as he realized a painful reality: he was alone.

Takeru scanned the horizon and saw nobody.

"TAICHI? YAMATO? KOUSHIRO?"

Nobody answered.

"JYOU! SORA! MIMI!"

Again, no answer. He was all alone. He'd been alone before, but at least he'd been alone with other people around.

Now there was nobody.

What if some hungry Digimon came along?

He didn't even have Pata-chan to defend him.

_I don't want to die. I don't want to be alone!_

Takeru felt an odd uncontrollable feeling overcoming him.

The blond reflexively touched his eyes. They felt wet.

Tears?

Takeru couldn't remembered the last time he'd cried. He just knew it hadn't happened since his parents' divorce. He didn't want them to feel even guiltier about their divorce.

But they weren't here now. Nobody was here now.

"Mom…Dad…"

Takeru was now sobbing. Why did it have to be this way? Why couldn't he have a REAL family?

If he had a family this might not have happened.

He wouldn't have followed his brother to camp and wound up here.

But no, in the end he'd been abandoned just like if he didn't have parents at all.

The boy crumpled onto his hands and knees, hopeless setting in.

"NO! No…somebody…somebody please…help me…help me."

Takeru heard the sounds of shifting sand and felt a pair of arms wrap around him.

He looked up and saw a familiar patch of red hair.

"Koushiro!"

Takeru wrapped his arms around the redhead and buried his head in Koushiro's shoulder.

"Koushiro! I don't wanna be alone!"

The blonde continued sobbing into the comforting shoulder.

"Shh. Shh. It's alright. Don't worry." Koushiro cooed. "You're not alone. You're not alone. You've got me. I'm here, and I won't let ANYTHING happen to you."

Takeru was so happy to not be alone. Even if it was somebody he'd resented for years. His tears of sorrow turned to happiness.

Neither boy noticed Takeru's falling tears as they hit the mysterious device on Koushiro's backpack strap, Or the dim glow that appeared as they hit the tiny screen.

"It's alright. Everything's alright."

The two boys suddenly heard the sound of static filling the air. It sounded like radio static.

"K-Koushiro?" a familiar voice stuttered.

Koushiro unwrapped himself from Takeru, keeping a protective arm around the boy's shoulders.

"J-Jyou-san?" Koushiro stuttered back.

"Koushiro! Where are you? Are you alright?" Taichi's voice was heard through the static.

"Yeah!" The redhead responded, overcoming his shock "And I've got Takeru and Tentomon with me! By the way, how are we talking?"

"No idea!" Taichi answered rather bluntly "I'm just glad we're talking! So Sora's not with you?"

"Nope." The blond boy answered

"Hey buddy!" Even over this strange device, Taichi still exuded his usual friendliness, "So, how 'bout we meet up somewhere? I've got Yamato, Jyou, Mimi, and their digimon with me."

"Alright Taichi, but it's not exactly like we can meet up at the mall." The redhead seemed to think for a moment. "Okay! How about this? Can you see the Mountain that looks like a round pyramid or a cake with different layers on it?"

Takeru looked towards the green mountain, to which he was referring. It looked pretty far away.

"Yeah!" answered Taichi.

"Alright! How 'bout we both of our respective groups make our way to the base of the mountain and meet there!"

"What about Sora?" Taichi asked

"We'll look for her on the way there. She couldn't have gone far."

"Alright. And Koushiro?"

"Yes?"

"Don't ever let me get talked into a plan like that again. I don't want us to ever get separated like this again."

"Don't worry Taichi, I'm sure we'll never be scattered like this again."

And just like that, the static ended along with the conversation.

"Huh, That's weird." Koushiro commented, "I guess things let us communicate with their counter-parts."

"Either that, or it knew we wanted to talk them." Takeru joked.

But Koushiro obviously didn't think it was funny as he seemed to remember something and his face paled even more if that was possible.

"Uh…Koushiro?" Tentomon asked slightly worried.

"HEY! Koushiro!" Yet another familiar voice said.

Takeru looked up and saw a strange sight: Agumon being carried by Patamon, who was flying through the sky.

"PATA-CHAN!"

"TAKERU!" the round, orange creature responded.

Patamon, who'd clearly been struggling to carry Agumon, let go of his hand and let the orange dinosaur fall to his butt, clearly unharmed but irritated.

Patamon landed in Takeru's arms, which squeezed him tight.

"Koushiro!" Agumon called, running towards the redhead and pulling him into a hug.

"I'm here to protect you, just like I promised Taichi." He commented.

"Wait. Taichi MADE you promise to protect me?"

"Yup! But I like you, Koushiro so it's not a problem."

Koushiro blushed.

"By the way," the blond inquired, "What happened?"

"Well, we weren't going to get away from those turtles as easily as I hoped. So the only way to beat them and get away was to combine a Baby Flame and an Air Shot to take them out in one shot. But I underestimated the power of the blast, which was clearly strong enough to knock us pretty far away from each other."

Oh, that explained it. So it was basically Koushiro's fault he'd been all alone in the first place.

But then, he'd been the only one there to comfort Takeru.

It was getting harder and harder to hate Koushiro.

"Alright! Let's go!" Koushiro shouted, pumping his fist into the air. He started walking forward and tripped over the skull from earlier.

"Ow. What the Hell-AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" Koushiro scooted away from the skull on his butt at super anime speed.

Takeru giggled and started walking past it when he heard a strange sound, like a gear turning, and looked up, seeing something black and ominous flying through the sky at amazing speed.

&&&

"MELT WAX!"

Candmon shot 5 blasts of hot wax into the air, hitting all 5 targets.

It was going to be an easy battle this time. But then again, the gang of rock-like Jagamon didn't usually put up much of a fight.

For perfect level Digimon their attacks were pretty ineffective. But that's probably because it's harder to hit a FAST flying target.

Ever since the Jagamon had come to this place 2 months ago, they'd been terrorizing the Pyocomon village.

Candmon always felt protective of creatures smaller than him, after the way HE was treated as a Petit Meramon.

The 4 Jagamon spread out around him, circling him. It seemed irrelevant considering his firepower would allow him to take out 4 targets at once. Wait, 4?

"FRIED CHARGE!"

The 4 Jagamon slammed their heads into the ground, causing the ground to begin cracking and flying up around him.

Now he realized it, they'd surrounded him in a barrier of moving, interchangeable rocks. But he could just blast through it with a Bonfire attack.

And they knew that.

What was the point?

"BODY BLOW!"

Candmon looked down towards the source of the voice, and was too late to stop the 5th Jagamon as he burst forth from the ground and hit Candmon with everything he had.

Candmon felt his body cut and bruise as he was knocked through the jagged moving rocks and thrown through the sky.

So that's where the 5th Jagamon had been. He must've tunneled underground before their little rock trick.

What a dirty move.

Candmon finally felt himself stop as he crashed, hard into the side of his mountain home.

Everything was spinning. Candmon was dizzy with pain.

Was he going to die?

No. He couldn't. Not while there were still innocents to protect.

Candmon shut his eyes, deciding to rest for a while and regain his strength.

And that's when he heard it, a strange sound that Candmon had never heard before.

The Candle-like digimon opened his eyes and saw something black enter his chest.

It stung and ground against his body. Candmon screamed as electricity surrounded his body, shocking him, changing him.

Beams of black light shot out of his body.

Pain, where was all this pain coming from? What was happening?

And then came the power. A feeling of power, every molecule in his body was being super-charged with energy.

Candmon felt his body getting bigger and bigger, until the pain was too much.

Candmon awoke to an intense feeling of anger and looked down at his hand. It was covered in fire.

"Must…Kill…Pyocomon."

&&&

The sun was beating down on Sora's skin.

Why did the desert have to be so hot?

Maybe it would've been better to stay in the woods and face the Archelomon.

It definitely would've been more bearable than this desert crap.

BESIDES! Archelomon used Water attacks! At least they would've been cooled off!

"Sora."

Or even back at the lake would've been better!

They should've finished Seadramon, or whatever the hell he was, off then.

Damn Digimon.

Damn this whole place.

"SORA!"

The redhead was startled from her thoughts by the pink bird Piyomon.

"W-What? What is it?"

"A village." The bird said, pointing her wing towards a group of small huts.

"YES! Perfect! Food and Water, here I come!"

Sora took off running towards the village, Piyomon close behind her.

They were getting closer and closer! Only 20 feet away!

Sora skidded to a halt at the sound of a large boom. That didn't sound good.

"What's going on?" Piyomon asked

"Something dangerous. We should probably avoid it, considering we don't have Greymon or Garurumon to back us up."

A large explosion erupted in the village. Sora heard a high-pitched scream and looked up as something round and pink fell into her arms. Sora recognized it instantly.

"A Pyocomon" the redhead muttered

"Hey! What's going on?" Piyomon asked the Pyocomon, which Sora now realized was battered and bruised.

Something pretty strong must have attacked her.

"Jagamon," the pink plant-like creature muttered, "The Jagamon are attacking us. Please, help us."

"How many?" Sora asked

"Five"

A grin crossed Sora's face. Only five? They could definitely handle it! And then the Pyocomon would be so grateful they'd get free food! They wouldn't even have to PAY!

"Alright!" Sora shouted, pumping her fist in the air "Let's help them!"

"You really mean it, Sora?" Piyomon smiled

"You bet I do! 2 against 5, we can win on those odds!"

"Thank you." The battered Pyocomon was crateful, "Just bring me to the village, so I can explain that you're helping us."

The redhead took of running, the pink creature still in her arms.

The village was in clearer view now; the huts were smaller than she thought. They only came up to her waist.

She saw one of the attackers too. It looked like a dog covered in rocks.

"Is that Jagamon?" Sora asked.

"Yeah." Pyocomon answered, "Please be careful."

Right. Jagamon was a dog covered with rocks. How tough could he be?

Sora handed Pyocomon to Piyomon and took off running.

"Sora! Wait!"

Sora jumped into the air, landing a kick to Jagamon's side.

The rocky dog let out a pained cry and rolled a few feet away.

Looked like Sora's mother was wrong about soccer being useless. It sure came in handy for the occasional ass-kicking

"W-Who are you?" It asked in surprise

"Me? My name is Sora Takenouchi, and I'll be the girl who beats you today. Surrender now and I may go easy on you."

A smug grin crossed its face

"I've never seen anything like you before. But I don't think you have the power to defeat me."

It sure was arrogant. Did it really think it could beat her 1 on 1? But wait, Pyocomon said there were 5 more. So where-

"BODY BLOW!"

The strange dog-like creature jumped up and hit Sora right in the stomach. The redhead stumbled back and fell over something.

Another Jagamon crawled out from under her legs. She'd been tricked.

"FRIED CHARGE!"

One of the Jagamon seemed to head butt the ground.

Sora heard a rumbling sound and rolled away as a large crevice cut through the ground, right where she'd been.

If she hadn't heard it then she'd probably be dead right now.

Maybe this would be harder than she thought.

&&&

Koushiro smiled as he walked along with Takeru, Agumon, Tentomon, and Patamon.

They'd been walking for a couple hours now, and the heat hadn't ruined his good mood.

After that little forest incident, he'd been surprised to find Takeru crying, but it was a good opportunity to help him feel a little less alone.

Divorce was never a good thing, but especially in Japan.

Yamato lavished WAY too much attention on Koushiro, who could relate to feelings of loneliness.

Now he had Taichi, and he felt he had a responsibility to save other people from that feeling when he could.

Maybe he could even be FRIENDS with Takeru, an option he hadn't considered before.

They didn't meet all that often because of the custody in agreement.

More and more it seemed like coming to this place had been a blessing in disguise, despite the random monster attacks.

"Hey, Koushiro" the blond boy tugged Koushiro's sleeve

"What?"

"Look over there! I think it's a village!"

Koushiro followed where Takeru was pointing and found a small gathering of huts.

"I think that's the Pyocomon village." Tentomon commented.

"Pyocomon village?" Takeru asked.

"Supposedly they have the clearest, purest water around." Agumon grinned reminiscently of Taichi.

"Really? Let's go check it out!" Koushiro shouted boldly as he took off running with the other 4 in tow.

&&&

"MAGICAL FIRE!"

Piyomon blasted one of the Jagamon with a stream of green fire, knocking him into the side of a hut.

Perfect. They'd managed to drive 2 of the Jagamon away, but these 3 were proving especially stubborn.

All the soccer kicks and fire in the world wouldn't stop them if this pace kept up.

Piyomon was getting fatigued from hanging in the air so long and Sora was bruised, with at least 1 cracked rib and a sprained ankle from kicking against rock so many times.

"Damn. Hey Piyomon! I'm running out of ideas here! Do you have any suggestions about what we should next?"

"I have one." One of the Jagamon said, menacingly.

Sora turned her head to the rock-like dog facing her.

"DIE!"

The Jagamon began charging towards her like his predecessor had.

Another blow like that would finish her off for sure.

There was nowhere to run.

"BODY BLOW!"

Sora shut her eyes tight, nor wanting to face her death.

"KIBOU NO HIKARI!" a familiar voice said.

Sora opened her eyes and saw that same Jagamon lying on the ground with a large scorch mark on his chest.

"SORA-CHAN!" a familiar voice said.

The redhead turned and saw Takeru, Koushiro, and Agumon running towards her. Patamon and Tentomon were floating in the air on either side of her.

"Thank God, it's the cavalry!" Sora grinned.

"Now, you were saying?" Sora said turning to the scorched Jagamon.

"Uh-Uh Nothing! Feel free to lead a long happy life! BYE!" The Jagamon ran straight out of the village with the other burnt on close behind.

Only one left now: the leader.

"And what about you?" Sora turned to the fifth and final Jagamon.

"I'm not a coward like the others! I won't back down! FRIED CHARGE!"

Jagamon smashed his head into the ground, causing a wall of rocks to rise up and fly up at Sora.

"MAGICAL FIRE!"

"BABY FLAME!"

Dust and soot covered Sora as the rocks exploded on the impact of the fire attacks.

"PETIT THUNDER!"

An electric shock from Tentomon blasted Jagamon into the air

"AIR SHOT!"

And a powerful wave of air sent him flying out of sight.

Wow. Patamon's got stronger breath than Kirstie Alley.

Sora fell back onto her butt, letting out a sigh. Who knew fighting monsters was so exhausting? Even more so for powerless humans.

"SORA-SAN!" Koushiro ran up beside her. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." The redhead responded, "Just a little beat up is all."

"Sora-san, What the hell were you thinking?"

"Well, I thought that if we helped the Pyocomon village then we might get some food."

"Is that why you did it?" the Pyocomon asked hopping up.

The doors of other huts began to open and more Pyocomon started hopping up. There were dozens of them, all jumping towards her.

"We don't have any food right now. But there's plenty of water. Feel free to drink from our well."

All the Pyocomon turned to look at the same thing. Sora followed their gaze to see a dull-brown well at the middle of the village.

"The Jagamon are always trying to take our water to sell to other digimon. Usually Candmon keeps them at bay, but this time you showed up. So feel free to have some of our water as a thank you."

Koushiro and Takeru took Sora's arms on either side and helped her towards the well.

"We only let those with good intentions drink from our well. Even strange digimon like yourselves-"

"They're not Digimon." Tentomon corrected, "They're humans."

"Humans? Well, we don't care what you are. We're just glad to be saved by kind, loving individuals like yourselves."

"Well then you're in luck!" Piyomon bragged, "'Cause there's no one more loving than Sora!"

Loving? Sora smiled bitterly at the word, Love, again. Piyomon seemed to be the only one who thought of her so warmly.

But why? There was no melting a frozen heart like Sora's.

Why did Piyomon try so hard? She was only going to get hurt in the end.

The trio of humans reached the well.

Sora spotted a bucket next it, and used the rim of the well to lower herself to the ground.

_I wonder how they operate this without hands?_ Sora thought as she lowered the bucket into the deep black well.

&&&

Jagamon flew through the sky, oxygen pressing down on him.

Damn it.

It was supposed to go smoothly without Candmon around to stop them!

If only those strange pale-faced creatures hadn't shown up!

Jagamon felt the wind knocked out of him as he crashed into something. The rock-faced digimon opened his eyes. He found he was now lying next to a lake, surrounded by tall rock hills.

"W-where am I?" The Jagamon asked aloud.

"Your own graveyard." A deep voice said.

The rock-covered creature sat up and saw a figure covered completely in fire, with blue eyes and a mouth sewn shut.

"Who are you?" Jagamon asked

The enflamed creature smiled, "I'm Death"

"MERAMERA STRIKE!"

The strange creature pounded the ground with his fast, sending a wave of fire straight at Jagamon.

"NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!" He called as his rocky body was shattered into digital particles.

The creature held out his fiery hand and absorbed Jagamon's particles, charging his molecules with even MORE power.

The figure threw back his head and laughed madly as he filled the mountain with fire.

&&&

"Alright! That's long enough! Let's see how much water we've got." Sora shouted impatiently as she began pulling the bucket out of the well.

Finally, some drinking water. And maybe some for her wounds. Just enough to get them through the rest of their desert crossing.

Takeru and Koushiro had filled Sora in on their meeting at the base of the mountain and the new walkie-talkie function their devices seemed to have.

It was going to be a long trip and it wouldn't serve anyone if they died of thirst on the way.

The redhead pulled the end of the rope out…with nothing attached to it. The bucket appeared to be burned off. Strange.

Sora didn't know any water hot enough to burn through rope.

"Hey! Where'd the bucket go?" Takeru asked the obvious question

"I don't know." Koushiro answered. Maybe it got caught in some hot mud that burned through the rope or-"

A stream of fire burst forth from the well, 'causing the three humans to jump back.

"Or maybe it was burned off by a stream of raging fire." Sora commented sarcastically.

"Well, this is certainly strange. Where does the water come from?" Koushiro asked the Pyocomon.

"It comes from a spring hidden in THAT Mountain." One of the Pyocomon answered, gesturing with the stem on its head.

Everyone turned to look at the mountain.

It looked normal enough. Still green and round.

Suddenly Sora heard something. She cupped her hand around her ear to hear better.

There was no mistaking it; someone was laughing

That's when a tower of fire shot out of the mountain top.

Great. Just Great.

"Hey!" Sora turned to face the Pyocomon, "Who'd you say protected you?"

"Candmon" one of them answered.

"Alright. And what kind of powers does he have?"

"Fire"

"Right. Am I the only one making the connection here?"

"You're not. But we shouldn't jump to conclusions without more evidence" Tentomon responded.

"Yeah. You're right." Sora agreed, "I just wish we had a better view."

And then, to her utter surprise, Koushiro pulled out a miniature telescope.

"Hey! Where'd you get that?" Sora asked.

"Well…Um…it was a gift…from Taichi."

"Wow. So, you guys must be really good friends." The redhead commented

A visible blush crossed Koushiro's face

"You have no idea." Takeru smirked

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sora asked

"Later. Right now, we've got bigger problems."

"Such as?"

"Look." Koushiro handed the telescope to Sora. She pointed the scope at the green mountain and looked through it.

For a second there was nothing but trees and dirt, but then she saw what looked like a person covered in fire sliding down the mountain.

"Who is that?" Sora handed the telescope to Tentomon.

The ladybug gripped it with his claw and looked through.

"That's Meramon! Candmon's evolved form!"

"Yeah, Yeah. And what's he like?"

"He's got insane powers and an even MORE insane mind!" The bug answered in a panicked voice, "And he's coming HERE!"

"What? How do you know?" Sora felt some panic slipping into her voice.

"'Cause he's running through the desert at about…10 miles per hour, which gives him about…1 hour until he gets here."

"WHAT?" Sora felt herself starting to sweat, and it wasn't from the heat.

&&&

Meramon's soles burned sand below them as he ran faster and faster through the desert.

_Must Kill, Must Kill, Must Kill!_

The village came into sight Meramon's sight.

The eyes saw bright red and the blood was filled with adrenaline.

A body made to destroy and to only destroy.

Almost there

_Must Kill, Must Kill, Must Kill_

&&&

Sora watched as thousands of Meramon marched into the Pyocomon's dried up lake and up an empty pirate ship.

Yet another one of the strange things she'd witnessed since coming here.

Not the dried up lake, although those WERE rare in Japan.

The fishbowl motif that came with it. Although it would serve as an effective hiding place when Meramon came.

Sora suddenly heard it again.

That same maniacal laughing

He was close. Sora looked back up at the edge of the deep, dried lake to see Piyomon was still there.

"Piyomon! Forget it! Come down here already." Sora called

The bird turned away from her friends as they rushed down the side of the lake.

"No! I HAVE to do this!"

"But Piyomon-"

"It'll be alright! Don't worry so much. You look a lot better with a smile on your face."

Sora smiled at that. Even in the face of danger, Piyomon had an unwavering sense of kindness.

As the last of the Pyocomon flew down the lakeside, Meramon appeared behind Piyomon.

He was twice as big as he looked through the telescope.

"Piyomon! Watch out!" Sora called

The bird whirled around as Meramon grabbed her by the neck.

NO!

"Hey! Let her go!" Sora called, pulling her battered body towards the lakeside.

Meramon laughed and squeezed tighter.

Piyomon was running out of breath. She had to do something.

_Think, Sora, Think_

"Hey! Koushiro!" Sora ran towards the pirate ship, where Koushiro and Takeru were now hiding.

"What?" he asked, well, shouted.

"Can I have your telescope?"

"Why?"

"Just do it! And have Patamon bring it!"

Koushiro clearly didn't understand, but he complied and handed it to Patamon.

The round orange winged creature complied, carrying the telescope down to her in his mouth.

"Why'd you ask me to bring it, Sora?" Patamon asked.

"Because..." Sora leaned down and whispered her plan into his ear.

"Think you can do it?" she asked

"You bet!"

"S-SORAAAA!" Piyomon groaned, her breath disappearing.

"Alright! Here we go!" Sora encouraged Patamon as she held the telescope to his eye.

"You see him?"

"YUP!"

"Go for it! Now!"

"KIBOU NO HIKARI!"

Patamon shot that same golden eye beam into the telescope, magnifying into an incredibly powerful ray of light.

Sora watched as the crackling golden energy hit Meramon in the stomach, causing him to release Piyomon from his grasp.

The bird was rapidly began falling to the bottom of the lake.

A fall she wouldn't survive

No. It couldn't end like this. They couldn't lose Piyomon! SHE couldn't lose Piyomon. She wouldn't! SHE WOULDN'T!

"PIYOMON!"

Sora was running towards the falling bird, tears streaming down her face.

A golden light shot out of Sora's pocket.

What the?

Sora reached into her pocket and pulled out the device they'd each received upon coming here. The screen was covered with weird flashing symbols, but the main body was emitting a golden aura of light.

_My Heart…My Heart is getting…Hot. What's happening?_

Sora put the device to her heart and felt its light fill her.

"SORA!" the voices on the boat were calling, but Sora couldn't hear them. The light was drowning everything.

Sora looked up at Piyomon. She seemed to be frozen in mid-air. Beams of golden light were breaking through her skin.

The redhead collapsed, her legs too weak to hold her anymore.

She looked at the device in her hand.

_Please, Whatever you are, SAVE PIYOMON_

The golden light coming from Piyomon turned red and exploded in a blinding flash so intense that Sora had to shut her eyes.

"PIYOMON SHINKA!"

Sora opened her eyes, and instead of Piyomon, she saw a giant orange bird with beautiful fire-like feathers.

"BIRDRAMON!"

_Piyomon. Look at you. You're so cool! _Sora thought as she smiled up at the large bird.

Birdramon flew like a vulture over the dried out lake.

"RED FLAMES!" A wall of fire encircled the lake's outline, trapping Birdramon.

"Birdramon! You can do it!" Sora shouted encouragingly.

"BURNING FIST!" a fireball formed in Meramon's hand.

"TIME TO DIE!" Meramon called as he hurled the fireball at Birdramon, scorching her wing.

The Great orange bird called out in pain.

"Don't give up, Birdramon!" Sora shouted, "You can do it!"

Birdramon flew higher into the sky and wrapped her wings together.

"BURNING FIST!" Another fireball formed in Meramon's hand.

He growled as he hurled it at Birdramon.

The orange bird creature opened her wings, creating a gust of wind that knocked the fireball ineffectually into Meramon's stomach.

Birdramon opened her wings revealing a glittering light.

"METEOR WING!"

Birdramon closed her wings, releasing a barrage of flaming streaks at Meramon's body.

Meramon keeled over under Birdramon's attack, becoming a pillar of fire that shot into the sky.

Sora probably would've been scared if she wasn't so awed by it.

The fire shattered into a thousand embers, revealing a decidedly smaller figure shaped like a candle.

"Is that Candmon?" Sora muttered to herself.

Birdramon flew to the edge of the lake, grabbing Candmon in her claw, and landing on the bottom of the lake.

Golden light enveloped Birdramon, reverting her back to Piyomon. The bird crumpled next to the candle, unconscious.

"P-Piyomon" Sora crawled towards the bird.

"SORA!" Koushiro called, "Don't go near him! It's dangerous!"

Candmon suddenly awoke, releasing an earth-shattering moan as something large and black flew out of his body.

Sora got a good look at the black object: a giant spinning gear, which shattered into thousands of black particles.

And then everything went as black as the gear that had come out of Candmon.

&&&

Koushiro stared at the unconscious bodies of Candmon, Sora, and Piyomon.

The smile that adorned his face only a few hours ago was now gone.

It was replaced with a deep thoughtful expression that was thinking over the events of the day.

What happened to Candmon that made him evolve in such an evil way?

Why did he want to kill them?

Was it the black gear that flew out of his body?

Koushiro thought hard. Where had he seen that gear before?

_Oh yeah! Back at the cliff!_

Back at the cliff, Monochromon, he'd had a gear stuck in him too. But that one seemed to disappear when exposed to the light of Taichi's device.

So then why did the gear disappear when Birdramon beat Meramon?

BIRDRAMON

That was a whole other issue. How was Piyomon able to evolve like Agumon and Gabumon? There was a definite key to evolution, but they just seemed to be missing it.

Koushiro sighed and stared down into his bowl, which contained a food that looked like crushed onigiri.

What good was having a genius label if he couldn't learn anything about this strange place?

He felt totally useless.

"Hey Look! More 'Humans'!" One of the Pyocomon shouted.

Koushiro looked up

Despite the twilight that was now falling across the hot desert, Koushiro made out Taichi, Yamato, Jyou, Mimi, Gomamon, and Palmon riding on top of Garurumon.

And just like that, the same old smile returned to Koushiro's face.

"Do you know them?" Pyocomon asked the redheaded boy.

"Yeah. You could say that."

* * *

Now I know what you're thinking and don't worry, my next chapter will most assuredly bring the focus back to Tashiro!

Japanese:

MeraMera-Burn

Hope you enjoyed it everyone! PLEASE REVIEW FOR ONCE!


	11. I'll Never Belong To You

_Today's the day_

A pair of cold red eyes shot open

_Today's the day I will meet my destiny_

A black pair of wings expanded

_Today's the day when THEY shall fall to ruin_

The cold figure slowly began to rise from the waters, where he slept night after night, still standing, wrapped conservatively to protect himself from intruders.

The figure felt his feet felt leave the water, and took a moment to gaze around his home, the vast cave he inhabited in the side of infinity mountain.

As usual, it was completely dark…and filled with water melted from the black gears to sustain his powers.

The only solid surface was a very, VERY narrow bridge made of rock, which lead from the only entrance to the cave and stopped at the cave's very center, attached to a small circular platform.

The bridge was necessary to create an intimidating atmosphere for his digimon servants when they came to receive orders.

And it's not like his servants could stand on Stalagmites or hang off Stalactites…even if they did manage to jump that far.

The figure inhaled and exhaled slowly.

The black pair of wings carried him over to the circular platform.

Two feet adorned in night-black shoes landed on the rock-platform.

The figure took a minute to clear his mind, and then reached his hand out as if to receive something.

Black eyelids hid cold red eyes as a wicked mind began gathering its mental energy.

"Come to me" The raspy voice whispered

Mental energy converged at the front of the wicked mind.

_Almost There_

The energy twisted and shook, struggling for control

_Come on_

The energy snapped into form, creating its intended image.

_NOW!_

"MIRROR OF ONE THOUSAND HELLS!"

The raspy whisper turned into a scream as the mental energy converged painfully at the center of the figure's palm.

The figure's black wrist turned upward, releasing the energy in a green flash of blinding light.

For a brief moment, the twisty formations of the cave were illuminated, but the light dulled so that it only illuminated the platform.

Before the figure was the circular image of a Gotsumon, some desert visible behind him, its edges outlined by green shimmering energy.

"What sort of news do you have for me?" The figure asked

"The Chosen Children have been spotted passing the mountain spring and are now traveling out of the desert."

"DAMN IT!"

So Meramon had failed. He should have known! With Garurumon and Greymon on their side, they had far more fire power than Meramon.

"Wait! How did they beat him?"

"Well…they were separated, and three of them made it to Pyocomon village. And then, when he attacked…"

"Go on. He attacked and…?"

"…And another one sort of evolved-"

"WHAT? ANOTHER EVOLUTION?"

Everyone was useless! What was the point of minions if all they did was screw up.

"Please! My lord! There are only 3! We just need to find a digimon that can beat 3 adult levels."

"AND WHERE EXACTLY ARE THEY NOW?" The figure asked, obviously failing to rein in his anger.

"Well…they're currently entering the dry lands and coming up on Andromon's factory."

That calmed the figure's anger. The factory, Andromon's factory. Andromon, the perfect level digimon with a metal body and enough power to easily crush 3 adult level digimon.

"That's perfect!" An evil smile was now crossing the figure's face.

"W-what?" The gotsumon stuttered

"I'll send them a special greeting. And just to make sure there's no failure, I'll send one of MY OWN specially made black gears!"

The figure took a deep breath and reached out his hand.

Mental energy began converging, once again being called to the black hand, and then the figure spoke:

"Darkness that flows like water beneath me

Gather in my hand and give me Power."

Black water, as if it had a mind of its own, began to flow out of the cavern in streams, forming a liquid sphere above the figure's palm.

"Now! Bend to my will and take my shape!

GO FORTH AND KILL THE CHOSEN CHILDREN!"

The streams ended, solidifying in the figure's hand as a round spinning shape, compounding its dark power. The figure reeled his arm back.

"BLACK GEAR!"

The figure tossed the gear with all his might, like a pitcher throwing a baseball.

The spinning gear flew through the mirror above the ducking Gotsumon, shattering the mirror as it passed.

The cave was now once again filled with darkness. Just the way the figure liked it.

"YES MY BLACK GEAR! GO AND KILL THE CHOSEN CHILDREN IN THE NAME OF YOUR LORD: DEVIMON!"

**Chapter 9**

"Taichi! Stop"

"What?"

"You're being too rough."

"Shh. Just let me take care of it."

"But Taichi-"

"Don't worry, Koushiro. I know how to do it without damaging anything."

"Taichi-"

"Stop worrying. It won't hurt."

Koushiro grabbed his laptop away from Taichi.

"Hitting it won't help ANYTHING! This is a sophisticated electronic device, not some TV with a faulty antennae that you hit until you drive the whole trailer park nuts!"

"What?" Takeru sat behind Koushiro against the lone tree where the rest were sitting, "Koushiro, was that AMERICAN humor?"

Koushiro turned around to face the young blond boy with a blush on his face.

"U-UH no! NO! That was, uh, that was-"

"ME!" Taichi shouted, startling Koushiro.

The brown-haired boy wrapped an arm around Koushiro's shoulders and continued, "Looks like my cultured personality is FINALLY sinking in!"

"Or infecting him." Sora commented

Taichi whirled around, unwrapping his arm from the redhead.

"And just WHAT is that supposed to mean?"

"You can't just go and treat Koushiro's personal property like that! It's incredibly rude!"

"Hey! I was just trying to help him out! That hunk of junk has worked since we came to this insane place!"

"It's not like hitting it's going to work!" Sora crossed her arms in a decidedly arrogant manner, "I mean, how stupid could you be?"

That did it. A noticeable crease appeared in Taichi's eyebrows as his eyes narrowed.

The brown-eyed boy marched towards Sora, his hands clenched at his eyes. He was shaking with anger.

"Hey Sora! WHAT IN THE HELL IS YOUR PROBLEM? Ever since we got out of the desert, you've been acting like a COLD-HEARTED BITCH!"

A look of pain crossed Sora's face. She seemed to be frozen, petrified.

And then Yamato saw it.

That look

Those eyes

That glint

And then the first tear fell

_SMACK!_

Taich fell to the ground.

The brown-eyed put that gloved hand to his face, rubbing the place where Sora's hand had hit.

It even left a mark!

An impressed grin came to Yamato's face, but it left instantly when he saw Sora's face. Tears were streaming down her sun-kissed cheeks, and she was shaking like she was cold.

Sora lifted her face to reveal her pained face.

"Taichi…BAKA!" Sora shouted, followed by her running away from all of them across the grass.

"Sora! Wait!" Taichi called guiltily as he began to run after her.

Yamato suddenly felt like following too. Who knew why? Maybe he felt sympathy for Sora, or anger towards Taichi. But he was a man of action.

The blonde boy sat up from his place by the tree. Jyou who'd been leaning on Yamato, fell on his side, waking him up.

Yamato took off running.

"WAIT! Where are you going?" Takeru called

"To make sure our group doesn't get split up again! I suggest you guys follow considering we have the only digimon capable of further evolution!" Yamato called as Gabumon began running next to him.

Yama heard the sounds of Mimi waking up. Ultimatums usually worked.

Taichi came back into Yamato's line of sight as he caught up.

He appeared to just be standing still looking at something.

Yamato stopped and was about to ask when he saw what Taichi was looking at. There was a large, rounded crevice in the ground.

It was completely covered in grass and appeared to be extremely deep.

Yamato couldn't see the bottom from where he was, but he knew one thing: Sora could never have survived a fall like this. She was dead, for sure.

The blond hung his head feeling tears well up in his eyes, when a thought came creeping across his mind.

It was Taichi's fault that Sora had fallen in. She was dead because she didn't see through the tears.

And now Taichi wanted Koushiro. But Koushiro wasn't here should anything happen.

A grin of madness threatened to break Yamato's face.

It was perfect.

Justice for Sora, and Izzy-Koi for him

Taichi hadn't defiled Koushiro, so he'd probably make it to heaven.

Everyone was happy

Yamato started running, his arms outstretched in front of him.

Nobody was taking Koushiro away. Never. Not Taichi, not his father, nobody.

A pair of brown-gloved hands found Taichi's back.

A scream of fear filled the crevice as Taichi fell closer and closer to the bottom.

Almost there

"TAICHI!" A familiar voice called

Yamato turned to his right and spotted a certain black-eyed redhead, fearfully gazing into the crevice.

The blue-eyed boy turned his view back to Taichi, just as he passed through the grass with a spark of blue light.

What the Hell? Was he dead?

"NOOOOOOO!" That same voice called. "Taichi!"

Yama turned back to the redhead. There were tears in HIS eyes. Did Taichi really mean that much to him?

Koushiro turned to Yamato.

"WHY? Why did you do that?"

The blond was silent. Koushiro really didn't get it? Why? Why couldn't he see how much Yamato needed him?

The redhead backed up, those eyes filled with anger and determination.

And then he ran forward, as fast as he could, which wasn't all that fast. Yama had seen him run before.

Then he jumped.

Right off the edge

Yamato grabbed Koushiro's arm

"STOP! What are you doing, Koushiro?"

"I'm going to save Taichi!"

"Just leave him! I'M the one who needs you! YOU BELONG TO ME!"

Yamato felt more anger filling his voice than intended.

The redhead just looked up at Yamato, his face going blank, emotionless.

"Never." He said

"W-What?"

"I'll never belong to you."

Yamato felt a sharp pain through his heart. After everything, was THIS how he felt?

Koushiro sank his teeth into Yamato's arm, drawing blood.

"OW! DAMMIT!"

The redhead let himself fall into the crevice.

_No. I won't let you go!_

Yamato backed up and jumped into the crevice himself. Cold air and wind surrounded him.

He heard voices calling to him as the earth rushed up to meet him, and then a blue flash of light consumed everything.

* * *

Alright! Sorry, I'll be doing the standard short first half, long second half! I REALLY didn't feel like writing this week, but I absolutely REFUSE to let this story die, which would most definitely happen if i broke my weekly update rule.

Japanese:

Baka-Idiot

Dedications:

Rokutagrl

kacsnaruhina

Okay! Hope you enjoyed this chapter! BYE!


	12. You Know And I Know

Pain everywhere.

OW

_Why does my unconsciousness always result in pain? I may be wrong here, but sleep's not usually supposed to hurt!_

Koushiro reached his small, gloved hand out.

It found something solid.

A wall?

Koushiro's eyes shot open.

_Where am I_

The redhead found he was in a small room without a ceiling. Instead there seemed to be a bright light filling the infinitely stretching walls.

Koushiro braced himself against one of the walls, which was covered in symbols.

_Think back, Think back. What happened?_

Koushiro focused his highly intelligent brain, trying to remember what happened before his blackout.

And then it all came flooding back

Yamato pushed Taichi off a cliff

Koushiro attacked Yamato

And who knows what happened after that?

Now he was in a strange room covered in symbols

It was all too much to take in!

The redhead leaned back against the wall, not finding the strength himself to stand.

And then he hung his head, his eyes dry.

Koushiro had no more tears to shed for Yamato. It was DEFINITELY over. And definitely time for action

**Chapter 10**

Yamato stared at Taichi.

It had been a little while ago that the blue eyes had opened to find a coldly sterile surrounding.

There were machines and conveyor belts EVERYWHERE.

The place looked pretty expensive.

Light filtered in from an unknown place.

Yamato's guess? Some kind of factory

That was all he'd seen before his eyes found Taichi.

That infuriating chocolate skin

His STUPID haircut!

WHY? Why would Koushiro leave him for someone like this?

Yamato was HOT!

He'd even had his own fan club at school, who were allegedly dedicated to the goal of "Turning him straight".

He took Beatings and taunting from his OWN father just to be with Koushiro!

And now some douche bag, who was out of his mind was going to STEAL Koushiro?

No. There had to be a way to STOP this! There just HAD to! Life couldn't be this cruel!

The blue eyes looked around.

No cliffs around. There appeared to be a bridge made of metal in the distance.

But Taichi was probably WAY too heavy to drag all the way there. He'd probably wake up on the way too.

Barring a humane fall, that left only ONE option…

_NO! I'm NOT a murderer! I can't really…kill him…can I?_

Yamato rolled this notion back and forth through his head. He couldn't actually take a life, could he? There's a fine line between sending someone to their death and killing them.

One was more personal than the other. But Koushiro was HIS! And if the only way to keep Koushiro was to take a life…

The blue eyes found Taichi

_Then I won't hesitate to take YOUR life, Taichi Yagami_

&&&

Taichi opened his eyes.

The bright blue sky filled his vision.

Clouds drifted peacefully through the sky

Taichi felt his arms and legs stretched out across something soft and plant-like. The air was warm.

A cool breeze swept across Taichi's skin.

"Taichi! TAICHI!" a voice called

Taichi's arms pushed him into a comfortable sitting position and he saw something that put a huge smile on his face.

"KOUSHIRO!"

The redhead was jumping and waving like an excited child. He was smiling and laughing.

Taichi realized that his excited reaction came from the fact that Koushiro WAS a child! He looked to be about 5 years old.

Taichi felt a warm feeling wash over him.

Reflexively, he looked down at his own body. Taichi was now seven instead of seventeen!

How did that happen?

And why did all of this seem FAMILIAR somehow?

Adding to the strangeness was their surroundings: they were standing at opposite ends of a field of flowers (Tulips, Daisies, Sunflowers and god-knows-what-else) that seemed endless in all directions.

"Taichi!" the little boy called "Don't you remember?"

"Remember what?" Taichi asked, displaying his squeaky kid voice

Koushiro giggled, "The kiss, Silly!"

"What kiss?"

The redhead gave a toothy grin, which Taichi found unbelievably cute, "If you don't know then I'm going to have remind you!"

The redhead took off running in his black-and-purple lightning bolt sneakers

His orange-buttoned shirt rustled in the breeze as he giggled and ran

"Taichi!"

The brown-haired boy suddenly found himself running too. The flowers didn't stop him as he ran as fast as he could. Like just standing still would mean certain death.

Time seemed to slow down as Koushiro and Taichi got closer

_Why? _ Taichi thought as he seemed to get closer yet further away _Why is this taking so long? Koushiro, Please!_

The redhead was getting further away

_I need you! I need someone like you! Someone to believe in me! To believe I'm not crazy! Please Koushiro, don't leave me!_

Taichi shut his eyes and ran as hard as fast as he could with everything he had.

_Koushiro!_

Taichi felt himself bump into something solid

The brown-haired boy opened his similarly colored eyes to see Koushiro was now sitting on the flower-covered ground with tears streaming down his face.

Taichi smiled and walked up, sitting down next Koushiro.

There was a large bruise on the redhead's curled up right knee.

"Don't worry," Taichi cooed "My mom told me how to make it all better"

The brown-eyed boy leaned over and placed a kiss on Koushiro's bruised knee.

That soft skin

Those black eyes

Why was all of this so familiar?

A hand tipped Taichi's face upward

Koushiro was now 15 again

"Do you remember yet?"

The redhead leaned in and kissed Taichi

Koushiro tasted like strawberries

The pale-skinned boy pulled away.

"So, do you remember yet?"

Koushiro suddenly vanished in a puff of white smoke

Taichi jumped up in surprise

"Hey! Koushiro! What's up with the Wizard Of Oz effects?"

There was no answer. Everything was silent. But a sense of unease fell over him.

And then, Black storm clouds began to gather in the sky above him.

The clouds blocked the sun, and everything began getting darker.

All the flowers rapidly began to wither and die, and it didn't seem likely that a lack of sunlight could kill flowers that quickly.

"Aw Damn it. How could this possibly get any worse?" Taichi commented

Rain began to fall from the black clouds in the sky

"Oh COME ON! Look, I don't know WHAT this is and I don't care! Whatever you are, you better bring Koushiro back to me or send me wherever he is, 'cause if you don't then I'm gonna open up a heaping can of Taichi Yagami brand whoop ass when I find you!"

Taichi suddenly felt something close around his neck

It was soft, but suffocating and constricting him.

Oxygen escaped the chocolate-skinned neck

The brown-skinned boy felt his wind-pipe compressed as he began choking, his life slipping away.

Taichi blinked again

He now saw Yamato above him.

The blond had a cold demeanor, but a look of pure anger rested in his eyes.

Yamato's hands were wrapped around Taichi's neck, pressing down.

"I'm sorry, Taichi, but I can't let you take Koushiro." The blond growled, "This is the last time you'll ever wake up."

Things were getting blurry

"Goodbye" he muttered

Taichi could barely comprehend what was happening. He just knew he was dying, and out of fight or flight, since flight wasn't exactly an option-

"AH!" Yamato was knocked from his sitting position on Taichi's waist. The blond boy rolled into the wall moaning and yelling as blood streamed down from his nose.

Taichi brought the fist raised in the air down to help push him into a standing position.

The brown-eyed boy allowed air to return to his lungs. Within a few minutes, his vision returned.

He knew that if another minute went by he'd probably be dead.

Yamato continued to moan

"Shut up." Taichi croaked, his lungs still recovering "Do you want me to be blind AND deaf?"

Yamato quieted at that.

Taichi was now breathing normally. He'd never been practically strangled before. It wasn't exactly a pleasant experience.

"So," Taichi turned his gaze on Yamato, "What was that about me never waking up again?"

Yamato's gaze bore into Taichi. "Y-You bastard. I won't let you take Koushiro away from me."

"I guess there's no point in denying it. But that's not the issue here." Taichi approached Yamato, "Gee, I thought it was just me. Who knew Koushiro had a habit for attracting crazy guys, huh?"

"I'm not crazy." Yamato said unconvincingly

"Yeah, because following your boyfriend and trying to strangle people is sane."

"Shut up! I just want to protect him!"

"Yeah, well, maybe he can protect himself."

"No he can't!" Yamato shot back "He needs me! He's smart and he's gay. How tolerant do you think Japanese High School students are? Can you be there when he's getting beaten and taunted?"

Brown eyes stared at him, deep in thought

Then Taichi reached into his pocket and pulled out the device that had so far aided their Digimon.

"Listen up, Yamato." Taichi began, "Koushiro? When you met him all those years ago, he was sort of weak and timid. He was basically at Koromon's level. And over the years, as he's gotten older and matured, he's only been able to reach the Agumon level. But ever since he's met me, he's shot up to Greymon! He's saved me, he's saved Sora and Takeru, he's gotten braver, he's gotten stronger! Don't you get it? Ever since we got here, he's evolved from just being your boyfriend into Koushiro Izumi!"

Taichi started walking away

"No! Taichi! Please, I'm sorry! I won't try to kill you anymore! Just don't take him away from me! I need him!"

The brown-haired boy stopped for a moment

"Well, Yamato, he sure as hell doesn't need you."

&&&

"TENTOMON!"

Koushiro shook his bug-like companion

"TENTOMON!"

Koushiro tried to shake the bug again, receiving a small electric shock.

"OW!" the redhead fell backwards onto the floor

The red bug sat up, awakening from his sleep.

"Sorry Koushiro."

"Ow. Why did you shock me, Tentomon?"

"It's a reflex. Before I evolved like this, it was bubbles."

"That reminds me," Koushiro said, sitting up, "What are you even doing here? I jumped down here alone."

"K-Koushiro? You JUMPED down here? I thought you fell."

The redhead smacked his head in frustration

"You hadn't put that together yet?"

"No"

"In that case, can you forget it ever happened?"

"Okay."

"Thanks."

"Hey Koushiro?"

"Yeah?"

"Why'd you jump in?"

"Tentomon, you just said you'd forget."

"I did. But then I remembered again."

Koushiro's mouth dropped open. It was like conversing with a 2-year old.

"So why'd you jump in?" the bug asked again

The redhead sighed in resignation

"Yamato."

"You jumped in after Yamato?"

"No, I jumped in after Taichi."

"You jumped in after Taichi?" A stunned look crossed Teentomon's face, "Does this have anything to do with when he tried to eat you back in the tree?"

Koushiro was now blushing profusely

"Well…um…yes."

"I'm not exactly sure why, but…does that mean you care for him? Adding in the considerably larger risk of a cliff jump to your human body."

"Well…yeah."

"More than Yamato?"

Koushiro thought for a second

"I'm not sure." The redhead responded honestly, "But…I think he's better for me."

"So what does Yamato have to do with you jumping down here?" the bug asked

Koushiro was silent

"Koushiro. If you're afraid to tell me, don't be. You can trust me with a secret, if it IS a secret, I won't tell anyone."

The redhead looked up, a hopeful look in his eyes.

"You promise?"

"I swear on my digimon heart."

"Okay." Koushiro smiled sadly, yet happily, "The truth is that Taichi was pushed off the cliff…by Yamato."

Tentomon looked stunned "Over you?"

"Well, I don't know how Yamato found out but yeah-"

"YES!" Tentomon shouted abruptly

"H-Huh?" Koushiro's eyes widened in confusion

"Everyone SHOULD be fighting over my Koushiro! I'm so proud I might shed tear ducts!"

All Koushiro could do was shake his head, "You're so weird."

"I'm not as weird as those symbols on the wall."

"Oh yeah!" Koushiro turned his sitting body around to face the symbols

"What are these anyway?" The redhead asked, gazing at the symbol covered wall.

"I don't know. They were there when I got here."

"That reminds me. What ARE you doing here?"

"I jumped in after the others." The bug replied

"Wait. Others?"

"Yeah, Mimi, Takeru, Jyou, Yamato-"

"Yamato?"

"Yeah. I landed next to him and Taichi. They were both asleep, so I decided to leave them."

I worried look crossed Koushiro face. If Taichi survived the fall as Koushiro had, would Yamato hesitate to do something worse?

"Hey, Tentomon, you don't think Yamato would- "

A loud beep interrupted the Koushiro mid sentence. He quickly realized it was coming from his laptop.

The redhead pulled the laptop out of its case and opened it up.

The computer screen was dark, but green symbols matching the wall were flashing across the screen.

"N-NO WAY! Tentomon! My computer's working again!"

&&&

_Taichi…Douchebag…this is ALL YOUR FAULT_

Sora opened her eyes

Everything hurt

Bright fluorescent lights were shining down mercilessly

_What is this? A post office?_

Sora looked over

Dirty blond hair

Brown gloves

A pink cowboy hat

_Mimi!_

Sora's would-be-friend from the bus was lying unconscious. Next to her were the digimon, Palmon and Piyomon.

Where were they?

Sora looked around

They were lying in a small room with metal walls

She assumed the one out of her sight was also metal

What happened again?

Taichi said those words to her

Those awful words

The words she'd heard many times before

They didn't mean anything when she was being rejected. So why did they hurt so much more coming from Taichi?

_Maybe because you LIKE Taichi?_ Sora heard her own voice say inside her head

No, No. That couldn't be it. She liked YAMATO!

But did he like her back?

Sora thought back to when he dragged her through the forest

Didn't that mean he CARED about what happened to her?

Or maybe that's just wishful thinking.

Either way, there was NO way Sora was planning on sticking around to find out.

The redhead discovered her leg was asleep and pushed against the ground to stand up when she realized there'd have to be something UNDER her leg to cut off the circulation.

Sora looked down to see exactly WHAT had caused her state of discomfort, but the sight brought her mouth crashing down.

"HOLY SHIT!"

&&&

"Gotta find a way OUTTA this damn place."

Taichi looked around

Everything was shiny and metal under a large expanse of wide gaping space

It looked like some kind of factory

And why was that exactly?

Taichi was pretty sure he'd fallen off a cliff

The brunette walked down a narrow hall

He felt like he'd been walking for an hour

He wasn't tired

Soccer was a LOT harder

But Taichi's legs were starting to feel wear

_No, can't give up. Gotta find a way out. Gotta find a way back, A way back to HIM. Please, God, bring me back to him._

Taichi walked by something that looked like a giant BATTERY! It had a gold lightning bolt on it, and it was a emitting a barely audible humming sound.

The battery looked like a good place to sit and rest his legs

_Just for a second though. I still have to find Koushiro and the others._

Taichi turned his back to the giant battery, leaning back to rest.

But he found no solid surface, and fell on HARD onto his back

Taichi struggled to sit up

There was a strange blue energy shimmering around Taichi's ankles. It looked like his feet were protruding out of the battery.

"What the-"

"Koushiro, shouldn't we be looking for others?"

"Hold on Tentomon. I really think I'm close to a breakthrough here."

Taichi's mouth slid into a sly smile

&&&

"What the Hell is that? OOPS! Don't tell my parents I swore!" Mimi blurted out

"It's okay." Sora replied, "But just WHAT is that?"

Sora and the now awakened Mimi stood with their 2 Digimon companions before one of the strangest sights they'd witnessed here: An unconscious silver robot.

"So just who is that?" Mimi asked Palmon

"That's Andromon." Palmon replied, "I've heard he's really strong, though. Even stronger than Greymon!"

Mimi jumped back, seemingly scared of the strange robot.

"Oh, don't worry!" Piyomon assured her, "He's a KIND Digimon!"

Sora turned her gaze back to Andromon. She wasn't scared, on the contrary, he was fascinating.

"He looks like something out of Robotech." Sora commented

Sora suddenly heard giggling from behind her

_Mimi_

"Hey!" the redhead turned around, "What's so damn funny?"

"You watching Robotech! I'm sorry, it's just so adorable what a Tomboy you are!"

Sora clenched her fist, anger pouring into her like blood from her reopened wounds. First Taichi, now HER! Coming to camp was supposed to give her a FRESH start!

Sora was silent, seething.

And she must've been quiet long enough for Mimi to get worried

"Hey, Sora, listen, I didn't mean anything by it. Sorry if I offended you. It's not a big deal, really. I mean, being a pampered girly girl is probably worse than being a tomboy. I'm spoiled, I gossip, I love pink-"

"You can hang on to a boyfriend" Sora interrupted her

"Surprisingly, no I can't." Mimi grinned, "There's just something about me that seems to repel guys."

Sora looked up, her interest caught, "W-What?"

"It's true. But don't worry about it. All I need to get over it are my Tenchi Muyo boxed sets."

Sora smiled, "You like Tenchi Muyo?"

Mimi's smile broadened, "Are you kidding? I LOVE IT! Ryoko rules my world!"

Sora walked up to Mimi, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. "Well it looks like we've got something in common after all. I'm a Ryoko fan too!"

Sora and Mimi laughed

"Hey guys?" Palmon interrupted the two of them, "Shouldn't we help him?"

"I don't know," Mimi bit her thumb nervously, "Are the two of us strong enough?"

"Come on!" Sora slapped Mimi on the back, "It's a great chance to bring out your inner Tomboy."

"Well, Okay. Palmon, can you give us a hand?"

"POISON IVY!"

Palmon's tendrils wrapped around Andromon's body

"Okay! I've got a grip on him! Sora, Mimi, pull!"

The two girls surrounded Andromon on either side, grabbing his arms

"Okay! Now PULL!" Palmon shouted

The girls pulled hard on Andromon's arms

After a few minutes, the robot came lose

"Alright! We did it!" Mimi pumped her fist into the air

Sora smiled. Maybe she had a new friend after all?

Suddenly the Redhead felt something grasp her leg.

Everything turned upside

"Sora!" The pink bird Piyomon called

Sora turned to find a pair of glowing red robotic eyes staring into hers. Looks like he wasn't so friendly after all.

Well, in a case like this there was only one other way to settle a problem: violence

A black NIKE met metal and a redhead flipped through the air, landing on her feet.

"Nice kick, Sora!" Mimi complimented

"Thanks!" The redhead replied, "And now we run!"

&&&

"I don't believe it! This is amazing"

Koushiro typed away at the keyboard of his laptop

Symbols were flying across the screen at high speed, but that wasn't stopping the redhead from unraveling their secrets.

"What is it, Koushiro-han?" the bug asked

Koushiro continued typing, his gloved fingers FLYING across the screen like they'd never done before

"You know those symbols on the wall, Tentomon?"

"Yeah."

"I've managed to translate their meaning by running them through my computer's hard drive!"

"And?"

"And these weird and mysterious symbols aren't weird or mysterious at all!"

"So then what are they?"

"Binary Code."

"Bi…Nary…Code?"

"Yeah, you know. The 0's and 1's that make up computer data?"

The bug still looked confused. If he didn't even know what a computer was, this country must've been REALLY far from Japan or any civilized country.

"Anyway, If I run the binary code through a more specific program, then I JUST might be able to decode their meaning and find out MORE about this strange place! Maybe even a way home!"

The big red bug just stared through Koushiro

"As great as that is, Koushiro, shouldn't we be looking for the others?"

"Hold on Tentomon. I really think I'm close to a breakthrough here. We can leave as soon as I've figured out this code."

"But what about Taichi?" the bug countered

_Taichi_

Koushiro froze. He'd gotten so caught up, he'd forgotten about the brown-haired boy.

Taichi

Was he even still alive?

Koushiro's head slumped forward and his fingers fell away from the keyboard

What would the redhead do without his only friend? No, he was more than that.

He meant so much more than that now

"Taichi…" the redhead groaned, feeling like an idiot.

Suddenly everything went dark

Was he passing out?

There was something soft, like fabric on his face

"Guess who?" A familiar voice said

"Taichi." Koushiro repeated, slightly stunned

"You are correct sir. But you've already got the grand prize as your willing friend love slave. What more could you want?"

The redhead, as if in a zombie-like trance, slowly rose and turned to face Taichi

A look of confusion entered the brown eyes

"Uh, you okay?"

"TAICHI!" Koushiro called as he ran at Taichi, wrapping his arms around him.

"I'm so sorry! It's all my fault you're stuck here! Please forgive me. I'm really sorry!"

The redhead felt Taichi's arms wrap around him, and chin press down on top of his strawberry red hair.

"Hey, Hey. It's okay." Taichi's voice soothed him, "What do you mean it's your fault?"

"Yamato pushed you off the cliff. You mean you didn't know?"

"No. But it sure would fit a pattern."

"W-What? What are you talking about?"

"Yamato just tried to strangle me."

If it was possible, an even deeper pallor crossed Koushiro's face

"T-Taichi. I'm sorry. This is my fault. I'm the reason your life is in danger."

Taichi kissed the top of Koushiro's head, causing him to look up

"Don't worry, Koushiro. You're worth every second of danger that I have to face, as long as I'm with you, I'm invincible."

Koushiro blushed

"B-b-but Taichi, you're still-"

"Ssh." Taichi placed a finger on Koushiro's lips "No more 'buts', and no more doubts."

Taichi removed his finger, replacing it with his lips

Koushiro felt that same rush of ecstasy as Taichi literally stole his breath

The same passion, the same heat that hooked Koushiro like a third grader on paste.

Taichi began to lick Koushiro's bottom lip, softening it enough for his tongue to slip paste and invade.

The kiss was growing deeper and more serious by the second

_Ah…Oh god…yes…yes!_

Taichi pushed Koushiro against the wall, pressing their bodies together

Suddenly a jolt of pain entered Koushiro's spine

It was familiar

Koushiro had felt it back when he was shocked while trying to fix a wall outlet himself. He'd wound up in the emergency room.

_No…No…it couldn't be_-

A loud scream interrupted Koushiro's train of thought

The redhead opened his eyes to see Taichi screaming as an electric current entered his body, shocking him.

Koushiro looked down to see electricity coming from HIS body! Or more correctly, it was coming from the wall and passing through his body.

So why wasn't he in pain?

The infinite light that seemed to fill the ceiling vanished, plunging everything into darkness

A loud beeping filled Koushiro's ears

What is that?

Koushiro reached for the source of the noise: his laptop.

A gloved hand found the same device that they all received upon coming here.

Golden light immediately shot from the device's screen, which held a strange symbol that looked like a Line linking a smaller circle to a bigger symbol.

_Is it reacting to the electric energy?_

And then, Inexplicably, the symbol seemed to float RIGHT off the screen and over towards Taichi, emitting a pink aura of light as it went.

Taichi's face was now blank and his voice, silent, despite his enormous pain a minute ago.

Taichi hypnotically looked up towards the symbol, raising his arms in that same way he would to hug Koushiro.

The symbol floated closer and closer until it was finally close enough, passing through Taichi's chocolate-colored skin.

And if Koushiro wasn't mistaking, the spot was right where Taichi's heart should be.

Electricity finished entering Taichi, whose body seemed to arch forward, followed by a bright flash of blue light.

The brown-haired boy fell forward and Koushiro ran to catch him, only managing to cushion his fall with his own body.

Koushiro adjusted Taichi, so that his head was lying on Koushiro's lap. The redhead examined Taichi. He didn't seem to be burned anywhere.

It was like the electricity had NO effect whatsoever!

And what of the symbol that had come from Koushiro's device? What could it mean?

Taichi's eyes fluttered open, revealing a look of shock and fear.

"Are you alright Taichi?" the redhead asked

"Y-Y-YOU! IT'S YOU!" Taichi pushed Koushiro onto his back, so that Taichi was now straddling Koushiro's hips.

"WHO ARE YOU?"

&&&

"MAGICAL FIRE!"

The pink bird, Piyomon, launched a twisting blast of fire down the narrow hallway, hitting Andromon square in the chest.

No effect.

No burns.

No slowing him down.

"Damn it!" Mimi shouted, "What can we do?"

Palmon gently nudged Piyomon aside, "Here. Let me try!"

Andromon walked ever closer

"POISON IVY!"

Palmon extended her long tendrils to wrap around Andromon's neck.

The robot continued to approach

"I don't know what's wrong with you, but I won't let you hurt Mimi!" the plant proclaimed

Sora noticed Palmon's tendrils light up with a faint glow.

"PLANT SHOCK!"

Sora watched in awe as waves of electricity washed over Andromon.

It was like nothing she'd ever seen.

Sora allowed herself to smile, pumping her fist into the air, "ALRIGHT! GO PALMON!"

And that's when the lights when out

The only visible light now was the electricity washing over Andromon, bathing him in an eerie glow, like when someone puts a flashlight under their chin and tells a scary story.

But this story was real

Andromon lifted his hand up. It seemed to start spinning before her very eyes. And here, that usually meant trouble.

"PALMON! LET GO!" Sora warned, "EVERYBODY GET DOWN NOW!!!!"

Andromon's hand was spinning faster and faster. It was a blur now, the energy particles it gathered making it visible.

"GET DOWN! HEY ANDROMON! HERE I AM! I'M THE ONE YOU WANT! COME GET ME!"

"SPIRAL SWORD!" The Robot called in a deep voice, sending a wave of blue light at the redhead.

Sora closed her eyes to brace for impact. And the impact was HARD!

A pair of red eyes shut tight in pain as Sora was LITERALLY sent soaring out of the hallway and into a bright white light.

Sora found she was now sitting on a narrow metal bridge that lead out of the hallway

Heavy footsteps were heard coming from the hallway.

Hopefully Mimi and the others were okay.

Sora fell into a battle stance, recalling the martial arts she'd learned while rebelling against her mother. Fighting skills were the only way to complete the tomboy image. Thank god she had friends to cover while she went to lessons in secret, and thank god her sensei's wife was planning her sister's wedding. A mother with a flower shop had its perks.

Sora breathed slowly and calmly

_I sure hope the others are okay_

A metal foot took its first steps into the light

_And if they're not, this guy's gonna pay._

&&&

"WHO ARE YOU?"

Taichi pushed Koushiroout from under him.

The brown-headed boy stood up quickly, backing up against the wall.

"T-Taichi, you know me. I'm Koushiro, remember?"

"Yeah, I KNOW THAT! I'm crazy not stupid."

Koushiro frowned.

"You don't have to be so rude. Just calm down and tell me-"

"That's just it! Why don't you remember?" The brown-haired boy asked, confused.

"Remember? Remember what?" Koushiro had no idea what he was talking about.

"Remember how we met!"

"I DO remember! We met on the bus on the way to camp. You kissed me, I kissed you, I cared for you and you didn't know how to definite and YADDA YADDA we end up here!"

"NO. That's not how we met." The brown-eyed boy answered seriously

"Otherwise I wouldn't have kept seeing your face for the past ten years."

Koushiro's eyes widened. TEN? TEN YEARS?

_OH MY GOD! Is he crazy or am I? There's no way! It's impossible! But would I really remember someone I met that long ago? Or is he confusing me with somebody in his dream? There is something familiar about him. But have we met before? I JUST don't know, and I don't want to hurt him. I better say something-_

The scream of a familiar voice cut through his thoughts

"SORA!" Taichi shouted as he ran through the entrance to the narrow cylindrical room.

_Saved by the Scream_ Koushiro thought as he bolted to the door, only to be knocked back onto his rear by an outstretched hand.

The arms was attached to Taichi, who walked into view

"Just remember, a scream doesn't get you off the hook. We're gonna talk about this later, got it?"

Koushiro nodded and Taichi reached his hand down to Koushiro, allowing that same smile to return to his face.

The brown-eyed boy pulled Koushiro to his feet.

"Good." Taichi commented, "Now let's go!"

&&&

"SPIRAL SWORD!"

A loud scream filled the empty spaces of the factory as a body flew through the air on a blade of kinetic energy.

A pink-gloved hand caught a metal grate

And the life of a teenage girl was narrowly saved

_DAMN IT! Why did I think I could do this?_

Sora's eyes found the robot who had just placed her in this predicament

Why did she think she could win? It NEVER worked! That fact was clear from the crap that Koushiro, Taichi, and Yamato had pulled since they'd been here.

And evolution was the ONLY reason they'd made it out alive! Piyomon wasn't even AROUND!

The robot began to move across the bridge towards her

_I could REALLY use some of that golden light right about now. Whatever it is, it grows digimon like a baseball on steroids._

Sora looked around with the irrational hope that something might happen

_Nothing. Damn! It's never around when you NEED it! I must be the unluckiest girl in the world!_

Andromon drew closer and closer. He raised his hand, which began revolving like a gun barrel: a sign that he was going for another one of those inconvenient sword attacks.

_Damn it! Piyomon, anybody, PLEASE HELP ME!_

A loud crash filled Sora's ears

A pair of red eyes looked into a pair of brown ones and a white glove grabbed a pink one.

"Consider this my apology." Taichi's cocky voice said to her, "By the way, was that robot guy a friend of yours?"

"No, why?"

"Koushiro sort of…hit him with a crane. What can I say? He's a genius."

Sora giggled at that, unofficially accepting his apology.

"Right. Now, let's go find the others!" Taichi pumped his fist into the air.

"SORA!" Mimi called running out of the tunnel with 2 digimon in tow. Good, they're alive.

Taichi turned in the direction of the voice, "LOOK! I found 3 already! I'm so awesome."

And right then and there, Sora couldn't say she disagreed.

&&&

"Hey, Jyou-san?"

"Yeah?"

"Why are you being so nice to me?"

After Jyou had found Takeru unconscious next to Agumon, the three of them had set off to find the others.

But so far, all they had found was MORE AND MORE FACTORY!

And from what they'd deduced, the factory didn't do anything other than build and dismantle unidentifiable devices in a long endless cycle, like the cycle of weirdness that seemed to follow them since coming here.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Takeru." Jyou said with a smile.

"Yes you do. You know, my brother?"

Jyou's face seemed to freeze, a slow blush creeping into his face.

"Like the way you look at him, how you seem to FOLLOW him."

Jyou's face reddened even deeper

"I've been thinking about it, and Jyou, I wanted to ask, do you lo-"

Something crashed the floor a few feet away, and Jyou grabbed Takeru in his arms, running as fast as he could.

Jyou didn't hear anything and looked up. There was a dark silhouette in the air.

Based on Jyou's calculations, it must've been at least twenty feet up in the air! Amazing!

"HEY! JYOU!"

Jyou suddenly realized the blond boy was squirming in his arms and blushed.

Jyou set him down

"Sorry. I kind of got caught up in the moment"

Takeru pouted for a second. He looked a lot like his brother.

But this thought was cut short by a loud thud

Jyou looked over and saw something shocking, what looked like a giant robot was standing before them menacingly.

"WHOA! COOL!" Takeru gaped at the giant robot.

The robot's chest opened up revealing two evenly sized holes.

"GATLING MISSILES!" The robot called

2 fast yellow objects shot out of the Robot's chest, moving almost too fast for them too see

"FOX FIRE!"

A Stream of blue fire exploded the two yellow objects, and a large blue wolf appeared from the shadows, revealing itself along with a blond-headed boy in jeans.

"YAMATO!" Jyou called

"ONII-CHAN!" Takeru also called

But the blond didn't answer.

That's when Jyou noticed it

The dead look in Yamato's eyes. Why did he look like that? Why were his eyes so vacant?

The wolf pounced onto Andromon's chest, growling fiercely.

Yamato jumped from Garurumon's back, landing in front of Jyou and Takeru

"ONII-CHAN!" Takeru ran up and hugged Yamato, who didn't hug back. It was like he was numb.

"UMM…Yamato-san?" Jyou started, but was caught off by a loud ringing.

A Ray of golden light came out of nowhere hitting Agumon

Within a few seconds, he was standing next to a large orange dinosaur

"Wow. I don't know HOW I did that." A Familiar voice said.

Jyou followed the voice to see Taichi standing next to Koushiro.

Yamato seemed to take notice as well, his eyes widening with at least one recognizable emotion: Anger.

Taichi was looking curiously at the device in his hand, then he seemed to realize their presence.

"OH! HI GUYS! Greymon! Go help Garurumon!"

Taichi and Koushiro, Sora and their digimon, who he hadn't noticed, ran towards them as Greymon approached the wolf and the robot, now appearing to be wrestling around on the metal ground.

"HEY GUYS! What's up-"

_THWACK_

Taichi fell to the ground, dazed and confused, much like Jyou at this very moment.

Yamato's fist was stretched out into the air, but not for long, as it grabbed Taichi by his collar.

"TAICHI! YOU BASTARD! HOW COULD YOU? HE WAS MINE! HE WAS ALL MINE! YOU STOLE HIM FROM ME! YOU STOLE HIM FROM ME!"

And then Yamato fell to the ground, he was stunned.

"K-KOUSHIRO?"

Koushiro's fist fell to his side.

"W-WHY? How could you do this to me? How-"

"SHUT UP YAMATO!" Koushiro cut him off

"He didn't steal anything! You lost me! You had your chance. HELL, You had MORE than one chance! And you lost me. Goodbye!"

Goodbye? What did he mean? What did any of this mean?

What was happening?

Koushiro and Yama were DATING weren't they? What was going on?

And then Koushiro started to GLOW with pink energy. Jyou's eyes panned to Tentomon, who was now growing and shifting until he was a giant blue bug.

It would've been scary if it weren't so cool.

"MEGA BLASTER!" The bug called as electricity gathered in its mouth.

And then electricity engulfed everything, including Greymon, Garurumon, and Andromon.

&&&

Koushiro opened his eyes

His head was pounding

What happened again?

He remembered feeling an extreme sense of anger at Yamato.

And then there was a giant blue bug

And Taichi

Taichi?

Koushiro looked over

The brown boy was lying a few feet away

And then Koushiro remembered. Everything.

The sandbox

The monsters

And a little boy, all those years ago

Maybe it was the electricity

Maybe it was the light

But Koushiro remembered everything

And then he started inching towards Taichi

He wanted to be closer

He had to be closer

He had to be with Taichi

And then Koushiro clasped Taichi's hand

Taichi's head rolled towards Koushiro and black eyes met brown

"I remember." Koushiro uttered loud enough for him to hear, "I want to be with you."

"Don't you see Koushiro? You already are."

Koushiro smiled and inched closer, his lips meeting Taichi's.

And then Koushiro's lips parted as he hoped they never would.

* * *

SORRY! This maybe the last chapter for a little while! I'll come back to it in a little while though, so don't worry! I've just been really busy though! HOPE You like it so far! In my next chapter I'll go into further detail on the ending of this chapter! HOPE YOU ENJOYED IT! BYE!


	13. She Got Colder

Goodbye

The word just ROLLS off the tongue doesn't it?

I've never had to say it before. NEVER.

I was always grateful for what I had in my life.

My parents, or rather, my FAKE parents

And Yamato

I never would've said goodbye to them because I was always grateful for them

And I never had anyone ELSE to say goodbye too. I was an outcast for being smart and Gay at my school.

It's not easy being 15

But then it all got to be too much

Everything started closing in

Lying became more and more apparent in my daily life. Parents day at school? A lie. The words "Mom and Dad"? ANOTHER LIE.

And then Yamato

Everyday it was always questions about where I'd been and where I was going

Never about what I was thinking or how I felt

And then the following and the stalking

That rustling in the bushes, that tiny bit of visible blond hair

I ALWAYS knew it was him. And I ALWAYS thought I could deal with it

But it became a stranglehold on my life

So much so that I even considered suicide at one point

But I'm too smart for that. There were better means for escaping

Such as a camping trip in the mountains, that sure backfired.

And then HE came along

Taichi Yagami

Brown hair

Brown eyes

Brown skin

He was like a bronze god

And the only reason we met was because he wanted the time

Albeit, we actually DID meet before

When I hurt my knee in the sand box and he gave me my first kiss

Then Yamato got in the way, like he always did with his jealousy and over-protectiveness

Even back then, Taichi actually cared about ME and not controlling me.

But anyway, I found a friend in Taichi, whose parents alleged his supposed insanity due to dreams about me, and a large orange dinosaur.

I wish I could say this proved Taichi's sanity, but he was still just a little bit crazy. But that made things more interesting and exciting.

It had also, effectively, marked the start of this little adventure when he kissed me in the woods.

And then, somehow, we wound up in this weird country where all of the organisms seemed to be in constant flux, changing back and forth on the evolutionary scale.

It's strange, because human evolution is a lot more permanent. I'm determined to figure out this strange phenomenon.

WHOOPS! I'm getting off topic again, aren't I?

Anyway, we wound up at this factory where a lot of weird symbols seemed to restore Taichi's memories, when exposed to light from one of these strange devices.

Another phenomenon I'm determined to figure out.

Then, a strange robotic digimon named Andromon ATTACKED, resulting in a fight between him, Greymon, Garurumon, and Tentomon, who also received the evolutionary benefits from my strange device.

And then he sort of lost control of his power and ended up blasting EVERYONE! Including me. Ironically, this was just the thing to jog my memories of Taichi and myself back then.

But they were slightly irrelevant at that point, due to my dumping of Yamato with a punch to the face.

I think I acted more confident than I actually was.

But it seemed to work, because now Taichi and I are-

"Hey!" Takeru interrupted my thoughts.

I looked down at him

"Yes?"

"So are you and Taichi dating now?"

I look towards Taichi, who walked beside me

We smiled warmly at each other and I turned back to look down at Takeru

"Yes. Yes we are."

"Cool!"

Yes. Very cool.

**Chapter 11**

Darkness

Why did it seem so inescapable?

It had been inhabiting my dreams

And it had filled me with unhappiness

Now here it was again

After waking from the electric backlash of Tentomon's new form, the big guy had been more than happy to show us the exit from the factory: A sewer line.

Unfortunately, we now had a new problem to deal with.

Yamato had apparently woken up before any of us, and after Andromon had used the technology in his body to scan the factory for organic life forms, we determined that he'd escaped through the sewer line.

I understand why. He has no memory of his behavior at camp, he thinks I betrayed him. But this is still an extremely strange country, and it's dangerous to get separated.

I'm surprised that Takeru's not more worried about him, but my blonde friend simply smiled and said that everything would be alright.

I haven't had that kind of hope in a long time, but now that I've got someone like Taichi in my life, it's starting to come back little by little.

Of course it was hard to be hopeful in a place like this.

Everything looked dark and dank.

You couldn't see behind or ahead. The tunnel had a low ceiling.

And the smells!

Oh God, the smells are horrific!

If there were sewers did that mean there were toilets in this world? Regardless, the subject could get awkward.

Wait, what am I doing?

Yamato's out there because I didn't properly end things and I don't even feel guilty? And I LEFT him because I was already cheating on him!

Good God, I never knew I could be such a-

"Koushiro?" Taichi asked, interrupting my thoughts

"Yeah?"

"Is something wrong?"

You have no idea

"No, why do you ask?"

"You've been kind of quiet."

"Oh. Well, I'm just kind of tired, Taichi-san."

Taichi face sank into a sudden frown

"You know what? I don't think I want to you to call me that anymore, it's too formal now that I'm officially your boyfriend."

"Oh really? Then what would you propose to call me?"

"How about…Kou-chan! Yeah, it's way cuter than Yamato's nick name for you and it suits you perfectly."

"Alright, then what if I called you Tai-chan?"

"No. Not sexy enough. How about just 'Tai'?"

I grinned. It was pretty hard to be unhappy when Taichi was in a good mood. In fact, if Yamato hadn't been dating me, I'm sure he could've been really good friends with Taichi.

Damn, where was he?

Why did he have to dart off without realizing he'd be alone?

I'm sure we could've talked things over.

And now we were down a Digimon.

What if somebody powerful like Andromon attacked again?

Who's to say we could get three of our digimon to evolve at once?

We still didn't know the key to evolution.

Something cold hit my shoulder, causing me to jump with a squeal.

"Wow, Kou-chan," Taichi commented, "I guess you just can't keep your hands off me."

I suddenly realized I was hugging Tai's arm

I felt a familiar blush creeping into my face

"Uh…well…That is, sorry Tai. But I felt something cold on my shoulder."

"Something cold?" Tai echoed, looking up at the ceiling

"Oh, it must be water. I'd get that cleaned if I were you." Tai indicated a dirty spot on my shirt.

I suddenly heard a sigh

I looked towards Sora, who had her head drooped.

"Hey Sora, what's wrong?" I asked her

She raised her face to me, "Nothing. It's just…I remembered. I haven't had time in a while, what with all the robots and killer monsters, but now that it's finally quiet again, I remembered."

"You remembered what?" I asked, curious.

"Home. Back home, when I used to laundry with my mother. It was probably one of the only times I really felt peaceful."

I spotted a small glint in Sora's eyes, hinting at tears beginning to form in her eyes.

"I remember," Mimi said, stepping towards Sora and placing a comforting arm around her shoulders, "My whole family used to go to the beach in the summer. I'd always get a nice tan and attract lots of guys. None of them exactly prince charming."

"That's a little frivolous," Jyou spoke up, "It's much more prudent to academically better yourself."

I cringed a little bit. I might've been smart, but this guy defined the word GEEK.

"You talk funny," Takeru commented, "It's way more fun to play video games. You know, develop your hand-eye coordination?"

I smiled. Takeru reminded me of myself at that age. Video games were one of my favorite escapes from the bitter reality of daily life.

"You guys are definitely over-complicating it," Tai commented

"Oh really? And what do you miss?"

"That's easy, Kou-chan. I miss relaxing in a nice warm bath."

"Mmm," I moaned, imagining it, "That does sound nice."

"It'd be even nicer now that I've got you, Kou-chan."

Tai grinned wolfishly at me, allowing his mind to soak in the gutter

"But what would do you miss, Kou-chan?"

I thought about it. I did miss my parents, but on second thought, they WEREN'T actually my parents. I didn't actually have any friends, aside from Yamato, who I guess didn't consider ME a friend anymore. I had good grades, which were hollow without friends to congratulate me. Now that I think about it, aside from Tai, did I have anything waiting for me back home?

My thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a faint laughing sound.

"Hey, who's laughing? Takeru? Is that you?"

"It's not me, Koushiro. It's coming from back there."

Takeru pointed back into the darkness, and I suddenly noticed something moving.

"Hey, what is that?" I asked aloud

"Ill tell you what that is," Tai commented

I looked toward him

"A reason to run."

Suddenly we took off

The sounds of sneakers on cement filled the narrow tunnel, as well as the increasingly louder sound of mischievous laughing.

I was already running my fastest, which isn't that fast

I wasn't used to sports. I'm not very athletic

And my legs were beginning to ache

Inadvertently, I began slowing down

Something flew by my head

A hand grabbed my wrist

"Come on, Kou-chan! No time to be slowing down! Move those beautiful legs of yours and don't stop 'til I tell you!"

My body seemed to move faster under Taichi's speed than mine.

Chalk it up to him having faster legs.

The dark walls around blurred and vanished as everything sped up, as if it were trying to get away from me.

And then there was a light

Small at first, but then it got bigger and bigger and then…

"JUMP!"

I landed on top of Taichi as we both jumped out of the tunnel

I realized I was now straddling Taichi's waist, he was just staring up at me, like he was TRYING to deepen my blush

"We should be safe, now." Agumon commented

Then I heard hissing, and I turned to see several forms retreating back into the darkness of the sewer.

I looked around realizing we were outside again, in what appeared to be a lightly forested area.

"OOH! THAT IS SOOOOOOOO CUTE1" Mimi gushed, apparently noticing Tai and I,

I looked to check the reactions of Sora and Jyou.

Jyou didn't seem all that surprised to find me in this position, but Sora's face dipped into a frown.

I would've given anything to deal with those monsters right now, rather than this awkwardness.

"Hey, uh, Mimi?" Jyou walked over to the dirty blonde

"Yeah?"

"How about a walk? There's something I want to talk to you about."

"You got it! But don't bother asking me out-"

Mimi lowered her voice

"-Until we're further away from the others."

Jyou blushed as Mimi took Jyou by the arm and forcefully dragged him off while Palmon and Gomamon followed closely behind.

Once they appeared to be out of earshot, Sora walked towards me (and to a lesser extent, Tai)

"So, Koushiro, what kind of an idiot do you take me for?"

I was caught off guard by her question. I didn't think her stupid at all, "Well…I…Uh…What do you mean?"

"Don't play dumb Koushiro. I know something happened between you, Tai, and Yamato. Now tell me what it is."

I pondered whether to tell her for a second. I decided it'd be better for Tai and I to be open, and so-

"The reason Yamato left was because I dumped him for Taichi."

A look of utter horror and shock seemed to cross her face

"D-D-Dumped?"

"Yeah," Taichi commented, "Didn't you know?"

I got off Taichi and walked towards Sora.

"Listen Sora-" I tried to place a comforting hand on Sora's shoulder but she slapped it away.

"Don't touch me." She said bitterly

I recoiled out of shock.

"Do you know how LUCKY you were to have somebody like Yamato? And then YOU just threw him away like some piece of trash? You really are an idiot."

It was unnerving how calm her voice was as she said all this. I felt an arm wrap around my shoulders and looked up to see Taichi smiling down at me.

"Well if he IS an idiot, he's a kind and considerate idiot. Something Yamato can't exactly appreciate."

"Oh shut up." Sora uttered, looking up at me with utter hatred, "You fucking faggot."

My heart skipped a beat

That word

I could never escape that word

"RUN! EVERYBODY RUN!" I heard Mimi's familiar voice calling

I followed the voice to see Mimi, Jyou, and their Digimon being chased by dozens of slimy green life forms.

"HEY! ARE YOU DEAF? WE'VE GOTTA GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!"

* * *

Okay! I wrote this one in first person perspective because I wanted to try something new, so tell me whether you like it or want the old style back and I'll act accordingly. Hope you liked it, sorry for Sora's EMO attitude! BYE!


	14. Forsaken Walk Of Allegiance

**Chapter 12**

I listened in silence to the sound of my boots crunching along the lush green grass.

The sky was cloudy and gray

Depressing, But calm nonetheless.

I know why Jyou dragged me away for this "walk"

I figured out a long time ago that Taichi and Koushiro were together

I also figured out that would mean Koushiro leaving Yamato

Not that it's relevant to me in ANY way

But it is to SORA, who had a crush on Yamato from the beginning

And right now, I figure she's getting her heart handed to her

It won't be easy. But she's strong. She'll get over it.

How do I know all of this?

I see a lot of things

I put the pieces together

I'm not the dumb, over-enthusiastic blonde I portray myself to be.

But whatever

Since I'm already out here, I guess I might as well have some fun with Jyou.

"So Jyou," I turn to him, "What'd you need to talk to me about?"

"Uh…well…uh-"

"Is it about Yamato?" I cut him off

Another one of my observations

Jyou blushed and was now quiet

"H-H-How did you-"

"Know?" I smirk, "Elementary my dear Jyou. The way you look at him, the way you follow him like a dog with a literal bone."

Jyou blushed harder now. He was a strawberry.

"Listen up Jyou. You like Yamato, right?"

He nodded reluctantly

"Then there's only one option: go for it."

"Go for it?"

"YEAH! You know Koushiro dumped Yamato, right?"

"Well…yeah…"

"So that leaves room for you!"

"Really?"

"Yes! My friend Taako went through the same thing. There was this guy she liked and didn't realize that she could get him by using her charms. That's what you have to do. Play to your strengths."

"My strengths?"

"YEAH. You've got this whole 'hot nerd' thing going, WORK IT!"

I gazed intensely as I spoke to get my point across, and he seemed to think for a minute. Then he looked back up at me and smiled.

"Thanks Mimi. Your advice actually helped me a little. I guess you're smarter than I gave you credit for."

A gave a small smile.

I might even consider dating him if he were straight. Why are all the best men gay or married?

A glint catches the corner of my eye

I turn and see yet ANOTHER thing on the long list of strange things I've seen since coming here. Maybe I should stop being surprised by now?

"VENDING MACHINES!" I call out happily as I sprint towards the huge hunks of metal as fast as I can, well, as fast as I could in a dress anyway

Jyou calls after me, but I don't care.

I'm starving

We haven't had anything to eat since last night in the Pyocomon village, now's a chance to get fed.

I skidded to a stop in front of a machine with a giant can of coke on it

I can taste the cool liquid on my tongue already

I reached into my pocket and pulled out a coin

There's a clink as the coin slides into the machine

And then I hear a low growling sound

It's quiet at first, but then it gets louder and LOUDER

There was a loud crash as the vending machine popped open

I jumped back to avoid it

There's a small squirming form inside the vending machine, and NO SODA

I can't make out the squirming form, but it's getting louder and now I hear the other machines growling

At a time like this, humans usually go into their fight or flight response

I choose flight

I take off running AWAY from the machines, noting my friends' fearful faces

The growling is coming up behind me, along with familiar popping and crashing sounds

Something pink flies by my head and lands in front of me

I avoid it and continue running

We're coming down that familiar hill now

I can see two redheads, a blond and a brunette

"RUN! EVERYBODY RUN!", I scream at the top of my lungs to warn them

Everyone turns to look at me

That same fearful look crosses their faces

They're just standing there, gaping at me

Well this is NO time to be shell shocked

"HEY! ARE YOU DEAF? WE'VE GOTTA GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!"

* * *

HI GUYS! Listen up, with this chapter I'm officially throwing down my personal rule book. This is gonna be a three chapter story arc, like it or don't. I'll try to get the last part to you this weekend, but I really wanted to update this story, a couple stories actually. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, 'cause I feel like I've been too relaxed in Mimi's character development. She's a great character, and since I gave her sewer chapter to Kou and Tai, this is my way of repaying her. Keep reading and reviewing, guys! :D I'm about half way through this story and you don't want to leave when it's getting good. Next chapter's gonna focus on Mimi, Kou, and Tai! I also introduce Monzaemon and his evil LOVE-LOVE attacks! CYA! :D


	15. Reach Into The Darkness

"PETITE FIRE!"

Blue flames light up the narrow cave we're staying in.

I can see the cave walls more clearly now.

I still can't see the back.

It's a deep cave.

I sit down against the wall of the cave, brown sand under my jeans and a furry blue dog sitting opposite from me, a pile of fire and sticks separating us.

I watch the blue fire intensely, desperate for something to take my mind off of…HIM.

I briefly ponder whether blue color means it's hotter or colder than the red kind.

It's not enough.

I turn my head to look out the cave entrance.

Somewhere beyond that green grass, those tall trees, under that grey sky, HE'S with Taichi now.

He betrayed me

They BOTH betrayed me

I keep racking my brain, trying to remember what I could've done.

I've always been a loyal boyfriend

Watchful

Protective

I wasn't abusive. I never laid a HAND on Koushiro.

In fact, I STOPPED people from hurting him!

HOW THE HELL COULD HE DO THIS TO ME?

I stand up. Everything looks red.

I kick and feel something hot

Through the redness, I can see a pile of charred and scattered sticks.

My foot is still hot, it's searing. I welcome the pain.

I welcome any kind of feeling to replace THIS.

But the feeling won't go away

I feel hot tears on my cheeks

Something rubs my legs erasing the hot, searing, feeling.

The sting is still there

A pair of arms wrap around my legs

Gabumon

On a good day I would never let anyone see me like this

But this isn't a good day

I suddenly hear a voice in the back of my head

"_If you want Koushiro back, climb this mountain_"

Who is that?

Could it be?

Maybe God hasn't abandoned me in this strange country.

The tears slow at this

And hope begins to form within me

Thank you God.

* * *

I gaze through the mirror.

The blond one is crying

Pitiful

The stupid dog has wrapped itself around his leg.

Those pathetic fools

They don't even realize I'm watching

Or that their cave is in MY mountain

The blond fool is spiraling out of control

Likely due to the Redhead's rejection of him

My eyes and ears are everywhere

Come to think of it, this could ACTUALLY work to my advantage

I place my hand on the mirror

My hand covers the image of the blond fool

"DARK IMAGINATION!"

I'm surrounded by darkness now. The rest of the world melts away like wax on a Candmon.

It's just me and the mirror now.

The reflection is gone now.

I can see a misty red landscape.

I push my hand through the mirror's glass.

The wall around the blond one's mind is like water to me now, parting for my hand.

The water's warm

Is this an angry mind?

Every digimon mind has been cold like ice to my touch. The feeling of fear.

This anger is refreshing

My feet and wings lift me off the ground as I glide through the mirror's surface, passing into his mind.

I'm standing in a quarry, there are large canyon walls all around me, red mist and dust fill the air around me, and the sky is black with storm clouds.

The clouds are crackling with angry red thunder

Music to my ears

Never before have I entered such a bleak, lonely, yet desperate and angry atmosphere before! It's inspiring! It's uplifting!

This angrily blurred eternal night has moved my soul!

If only I could stay in this perfectly wretched place forever, I'd never want for anything else.

Alas, I have a world to conquer, not to mention this boy and all his friends will be dead soon enough.

I can't forgive these children for thinking they can stop me.

I bent down and plunged my finger into the dirt beneath me

I closed my eyes and focused all my energy into clearing this mind.

When I opened my eyes again, the mist was gone.

This angry night was now clear.

I could see everything, including a lone figure sitting further out into the quarry.

I jumped as high as I could and landed next to the sitting figure.

He had spiky blonde hair, pale skin, a green sleeveless shirt, and blue pants, with brown shoes. His feet were pulled up against him, and locked together by his hands.

The strange clothes surprised me for a second, but I soon noticed he was muttering something to himself.

I squatted down next to him to hear what he was saying.

"Is it my fault? Is it my fault? Is it my fault? Is it my fault?" He was repeating

This was bad

Self-questioning could lead to reconciliation with the others. And then I'd be screwed. I had to stop this somehow.

Then an idea struck me.

I reached out, tilted his chin upward and laid a kiss on his pale lips.

I pulled away and grinned.

The blonde's eyes were now sparkling with my black energy.

The change had taken place.

"Now listen closely. If you want Koushiro back…"

**Chapter 13**

"BABY FLAME!"

Agumon ignited one the pink balls of crap these green life forms kept throwing at us.

Tai stood a few feet in front of Tentomon and I.

We hadn't moved from where we came out of the sewage pipe.

The others had since ran away, chased away by packs of these green life forms.

It was fascinating that they could cooperate in smaller groups, like an army.

At least it would've been fascinating, were I not replaying the previous conversation in my head.

The word Sora called me

That hateful word

I'd never done ANYTHING to provoke a reaction like that before

I couldn't figure it out

I was always passive and yielding. Before I met Taichi at least.

I never complained, content with what I had. I was content to suffer in silence.

In my relationships too.

It was like the Sun and the Moon.

I let Yamato burn his anger, fight my battles, while I just watched and glowed dimly against the night sky.

I never wanted anything more than that. I've got a NEW sun now.

Are things any different?

I want respect. I want LOVE. I want more than just protection and satisfied hormones. I want something REAL.

This feeling. I've never felt it before. It's exciting!

I know I should be doing something MORE than just standing here, letting Tai fight my battles.

I want to fight too!

My feet began to move beneath me. And before I knew it, I was standing next to Taichi.

One of the green life forms threw another clump of pink slime.

I raised my hand and caught it.

I glanced at the slime in my gloved hand and grinned.

"Hey, Kou-chan, what're you doing?" I looked up at Taichi.

"I'll tell what I'm not doing anymore: feeling sorry for myself. And I'm done feeling sorry for Sora and Yamato and everyone else. I'm ready to face life head on."

Tai looked confused for a second. I didn't exactly talk that much since we got out of the cave. But then a grin crossed his face.

"That's good, Kou-chan. You be who you want to be."

He's exactly what I need, a guy who gets me. Unlike Yamato, who just didn't understand. But that was irrelevant, because I'm done comparing them.

"Right!," I replied, "And what I want to be-"

I hurled the pink slime right at one the green life forms.

"-Is your boyfriend!"

A direct hit, right between the eyes

"Good to hear. Now, let's-Koushiro! LOOK OUT!"

Tai pushed me away from him

The next thing I saw was an extreme close-up of the grass beneath my feet.

I groaned as I pushed myself into a sitting position.

"Tai, Why'd you do th-"

Then a saw Tai clutching his arm, there was smoke coming from his skin.

The green life from were snickering like something was funny

Then something snapped inside me

I jumped to my feet and charged at the green life forms

I took one by surprise and before I knew what was happening, I had it pinned down between my legs. On instinct I started punching it. My fists were knocking away its slimy exterior, pounding its disgusting protruding eye-balls.

I just wanted to knock that smirk off its mouth. I wouldn't let them hurt Tai anymore.

"YOU STILL THINK IT'S FUNNY? HUH! SEE HOW YOU LIKE BEING HURT, HUH?" I heard my mouth saying, angrily.

I looked up at the others, waving my fist.

"YOU LITTLE BASTARDS WANT SOME OF THIS?"

And surprisingly, they ran away.

By now, the creature beneath me was just a pile. An unmoving pile of green life form goo.

I stood up and turned around to check on Tai.

He gazed at me speechlessly.

"Kou-chan…that was…that was…"

I suddenly realized the gravity of what I'd just done.

"T-Tai, wait, let me explain-"

"HOT!"

Confusion again. But I was getting used to it.

"W-What?" I stammered

"I've NEVER seen you go off on someone before. It was kind of awesome! Especially that you did it for me."

Tai stood up and started walking towards me. My heart was beating fast again.

I suddenly heard a loud roar.

I turned in a panic to see something utterly impossible. I felt a pair of arms wrap around my neck.

I faced forward to see Tai was the one wrapped around me. He gazed into my eyes with a dead, colorless look. Like he was entranced.

"LOVELY ATTACK!" I heard the same roaring voice call

I was suddenly surrounded by something wet and green

Then the world went cold

Along with all my feelings for Tai.

* * *

I know, I know, ANOTHER chapter where I didn't close up this saga. I haven't really felt like writing though as much as I wanted too, I'll be able to do it more during the summer, once I get past my final exams. Hope you liked this chapter, I'll be finishing the saga next chapter, and just to clarify, Yamato's foot WAS on fire! :D


	16. Madly In Anger With You

_Where?_

_Where are you?_

_My heart, my shining light…_

_Please…_

_Please come back to me…_

_I miss you_

_I need you_

_Your absence paints my world with a silent blackness…_

…_And I am filled with pallid hopelessness _

_Can you hear me?_

_Can you hear me screaming out?_

_Please…come back…Please_

Hot tears burn my face

I don't know why, but I get the feeling that the answer lies somewhere inside me. What is this feeling?

What am I thinking?

I don't have any feelings

My feelings belong to my lord, and my lord alone

So where are these tears coming from?

"Koushiro?"

I look up to see my comrade

Taichi Yagami

His chocolate skin is pale like a sick man

His spiky brown has lost the luster it once had

And his brown eyes have a dead, cold look to them.

Taichi, what happened to you?

Didn't you have more color than this?

You were filled with so much life!

Now you're more like a pale shell

An echoing shadow

Just like me

Why do I feel so empty?

Who do I only feel…for my lord?

"What's wrong?" Tai tucked his ice-cold finger under my chin, sending a shiver through my body.

"Do you hurt?" He asked in his monotone voice. He turned my head to each side.

"You don't have any facial bruises."

Tai took my wrist in his hand and smoothed his other hand down my arm, feeling my skin. Then he did the same for my other arm.

"You don't have any arm bruises."

Taichi dropped my arm, letting it fall to my side.

"Do you hurt, Koushiro?" He repeats the question. He's like a broken record. I would've answered his question…if I knew the answer, myself.

"Do you hurt?" He just repeats, completely emotionless.

I can't bring myself to speak. I just shake my head from side to side.

Where are these tears coming from? I don't FEEL sad. I'm pretty sure I can't anymore. I can only feel the love for my master.

"WHAT'S GOING ON?" A deep voice says

I hear the booming footsteps shake the forest ground, as my master leaves the shade of the lush green tree branches and comes into the slightly brighter clearing, under the gray, cloudy sky.

Taichi turned away from me to face our master.

"Why'd you guys stop walking? Koushiro, why are you crying?"

I could see him clearly now. That big white stomach, those yellow paws and body, those crimson red eyes. My master: Lord Monzaemon.

"Koushiro started crying," Taichi told Monzaemon, "I asked why, and checked his body for wounds. He's not hurt and he won't talk."

Monzaemon approached Taichi.

"You did the right thing." Monzaemon said

The great bear Patted Taichi's dead hair with his yellow paw, smiling an inexplicably unsettling smile.

My lord started walking towards me then.

His smile vanished and he had a serious look in his eyes.

The great bear lord crouched down and looked me right in the eye, fixing me with those large red eyes.

He stared at me for about 2 minutes, neither of us blinking, neither of us wavering.

Then, the great bear's face broke out into a cheerful smile.

"Okay, I think I've figured out what's wrong with Koushiro." The bear said, standing back up.

"If it's fatal, we should just leave Koushiro here." Taichi commented, "We don't need an eventual casualty slowing us down."

I nodded in agreement. I didn't want to hinder my Lord with my body, so then why did Taichi's words carry a certain sting.

"Silly Taichi," Monzaemon smiled at the brunette, "He's just a little heartsick is all.

"H-H-Heartsick?" I stammered. While I'd never say it directly to him, the concept of Heartsickness sounded completely ridiculous to me, not to mention unscientific.

"Actually, Koushiro, it's QUITE scientific." Monzaemon said, aiming his large red eyes at me.

My teeth clenched

How the Hell did he know what I'm thinking?

"I have my ways, Koushiro. NOW…If you'd just hold still for a second, I'm going to cure you."

Monzaemon walked backwards away from me, while keeping Taichi behind his body as well with a large yellow paw.

Once he was ten feet away, Monzaemon raised both arms and touched his paws together above his head.

He looked kind of like a ballerina about to do a pirouette.

"CHIKAMATSU CHIKARA!" Monzaemon called out.

Before I knew it, my eyes were blind with an amazing white light.

I was frozen

Completely helpless

Then I felt it. A warm feeling…rising in my chest. It's hot. My HEART is getting HOT!

I remember!

I REMEMBER!

Tai. My sweet Tai, I REMEMBER you! I remember what I feel for you.

Monzaemon. He's NOT my lord. I remember now.

Now, how do I get out of h-

OW! Ow, Ow, Ow!

It's getting to HOT! It's burning me up inside! It's too much, It's TOO MUCH!

I'm drowning. It's drowning me!

HELP!

TAI!

MIMI!

JYOU!

ANYBODY!

PLEASE HELP ME! PLEASE!

I-I-I Can't breath!

T-Tai! PLEASE HELP ME!

I-

I-

I-

* * *

"I LOVE YOU TAICHI!"

Koushiro suddenly took off running towards me.

His eyes were wild

He had an insanely goofy grin on his face

What the Hell did Lord Monzaemon DO to him?

Is he still sick?

His ever-nearing eyes were glossy

And his cheeks were red

Maybe he had a flu?

"TAICHI!"

I suddenly felt Koushiro's weight against my chest. Luckily it wasn't much.

Koushiro wrapped his arms around my neck, and nuzzled his face against mine.

I felt a red hot feeling burning inside me.

Anger.

This is anger.

It's strong

It's too strong to stop

How DARE he touch me like this

Only the lord can touch me like this

Koushiro…

Koushiro…

"GET THE HELL OFF ME!"

I clenched my right hand and delivered a punch DIRECTLY to Koushiro's stomach.

The red-headed staggered backwards until he fell back against one of the many trees, which surrounded the clearing.

Koushiro whimpered a little, hugging his legs up against him.

I walked towards Koushiro and crouched down in front of him to meet his eye level.

"Koushiro!" I said loudly, jarring Koushiro into lifting his face to meet my gaze.

I moved my hand to clench Koushiro's chin to drive my point home.

"Listen, Koushiro," I said, "I'm sorry, but if you EVER do that again, I won't be able to stop myself from hurting…or maybe even killing you. PLEASE, don't provoke me like that. Do you understand?"

More tears fell from Koushiro's fearful eyes, dripping down his Moon-pale face.

"DO YOU UNDERSTAND?" I repeated louder

Koushiro nodded quickly

"Good." I stood up and turned away from him, and began to walk away again when I remembered something.

"Oh, And Koushiro? Just so you understand, the only reason I was so NICE this time is because I USED to like you. Now let's go."

I heard Koushiro's timid foot steps following behind me after a couple minutes and I knew he caught up.

The 3 of us continued making our way through the forest until Monzaemon halted us with his yellow paw.

"What is it?" I heard Koushiro ask

"I think I JUST found us a new friend." My lord answered

I peered above Monzaemon's paw to see who our new friend would be.

Red hair, blue jeans, a yellow top.

I grinned.

* * *

Yeah, I know what I SAID. But I decided it's just easier to tackle Monzaemon bit by bit, so suffer through it, okay? I'll finish this story eventually.


	17. Shadows On Our Eyes

**Chapter 15**

_Tears fell on your moon-like face_

_An innocent kiss on your moon-like skin_

_I looked into your Night-black eyes_

_The sadness went deeper_

_But you smiled against it_

_None of my friends smiled like that_

_Then sadness took you away from me_

_The sadness took your smile too_

_I wish I had more power_

_To protect you from this world_

_To protect you from the loneliness_

_Don't worry Koushiro_

_I won't ever let you be alone again_

"WHAT!"

I turned around, my fist clenched

I only saw Koushiro moping along the road, and Monzaemon next to him, carrying our unconscious new friend.

The two of them stopped.

"What is it, Taichi?" Monzaemon asked

I let my face soften

I thought I heard a voice.

Should I tell them?

Monzaemon might have a way to make it better.

He made Koushiro better.

But then he might go TOO far.

He made Koushiro a dependent, lovesick freak.

He might make me deaf to stop the voice, or brain-dead.

My master had a tendency to go too far.

But it was all of out his own love, which begs the question: should I tell him?

"Hey Taichi, are you deaf?" Monzaemon said jokingly.

"Nope. Just thought I heard a voice." I responded, trusting my master.

"Well I don't think Koushiro said anything, and I don't think our redheaded friend has woken up." Monzaemon shook her lightly in his arms, like an infant child in the arms of its parent.

That's when I noticed it. A faint red light was coming from Sora.

I ran back towards my master and our new friend.

Closer up, I noticed the light was actually coming from Sora's pocket.

I reached in and pulled out her device.

"PERVERT!" I heard a sleepy voice say, right before something hit me hard directly in the face.

My butt hit the dusty ground.

I looked up to see Sora standing in front of me, an angry, half-asleep look on her face, and her hand balled into a fist

"Taichi, what do you think you're doing? And while I was asleep too!"

Apparently Sora was still angry at me, just a different kind of angry. It's a good thing we knocked her out before taking her, otherwise this could be a lot worse. And just why the hell would she think I had ANY interest in her? Putting your hand down a girl's pants doesn't always mean interested, not that I've done it...often

Sora crouched down to meet my sitting eye-level

"Listen up Taichi. This is the LAST thing you should be doing to get my forgiveness."

"Listen, Sora! I don't give a shit about your forgiveness! You're WAAAAAAAAAAAAY Too cold for me. Besides, it's a moot point anyway, now that I have him!"

I pointed toward my golden lord.

Sora turned to face my lord.

I couldn't see her face, but I noticed her body was now shaking. The perfect chance to catch her off guard.

As quietly as I could, I got up off the ground. I took small steps toward the quivering redhead, reaching my arm out until-

"OW! DAMMIT!"

I stopped in my tracks and looked down at my arm. There was a large burn mark, dirty with my hot red blood. What the Hell happened. I looked down at Sora's device, the screen was glowing an angry red color.

Her device…Could it have…stopped me?

"Taichi!" My lord's voice called

Sora had noticed me and was now running at Monzaemon

My golden master lunged at her, but she somersaulted between his legs.

The bear was now falling towards me, having lost his center of gravity. I felt a large weight on my back as I was crushed under one of my Master's loving arms.

Damn Sora, she was running towards Koushiro, who had a lovesick puppy dog look, no doubt concerned about me, not that there was anything I could do lying flat on my stomach…except-

"Koushiro! If you catch Sora, I'll give you a kiss!"

The redheaded boy's eyes lit up as the redheaded female reached him.

Koushiro simply crouched to the ground and grabbed one of her legs as it passed. The scene was oddly comical. It reminded me how I used to grab my mom's leg as a toddler, when I didn't want her to leave.

**XXX**

I suddenly felt something grab my leg. I looked down to see a certain redheaded genius/idiot clinging to my leg

"Koushiro! What the hell are you doing down there?" I shouted at him, wondering why he was clinging to my leg like a dog.

Koushiro just looked straight up at me, giving me this creepy pod-person smile, and said:

"I'm stopping you so Taichi'll kiss me."

A kiss? A fucking kiss?

"Koushiro! What's WRONG with you? And what's wrong with TAICHI, for that matter? Why are you trying to stop me? We should ALL be running! There's a Giant yellow bear attacking us! Are you too stupid to realize that we should be scared without Digimon to defend us?"

Koushiro suddenly looked sullen

"Are you still mad at me?"

Is he kidding?

"YES! Of course I'm still mad! And GETTING Madder! But that doesn't MATTER right now! We have to get out of here!"

"You're not going anywhere." A familiar voice said

I looked back up to see Taichi and the Yellow Bear standing side-by-side on the dirt road.

Simultaneously, all three of them started giggling. It was quiet at first, then it got louder. So Loud. Deafening.

I knew if I didn't make my move, I was screwed. I shook my leg as hard as I could, but Koushiro wouldn't move. I reached for his face. Pushing Koushiro off my leg would work better than shaking. My fingers touched his chin-

"OW!"

Big mistake! The redhead bit my thumb, hard. Blood streaked down my hand.

"SILENCE HUG!" A voice boomed. I returned my gaze to the golden monster. There was a large, gray, heart-shaped bubble floating toward me at rapid speed. I froze.

Koushiro jumped away as the large gray heart hit me. It was wet like a huge water balloon, and the instant it broke on me, a feeling of paralyzing dread spread all over my body. I tried to move, I tried to talk. With every inch of my willpower I tried. Nothing worked.

What did he do to me?

The yellow bear was now approaching my helpless body. Luckily all he did was sling it over his shoulder.

His skin was so soft, but its texture felt kind of rough. A Lot like a bear I used to play with as a little girl.

"That's it Sora. Let yourself like this feeling. Don't fight me." The Bear said. I think he was trying to comfort me, when all he really did was creep me the hell out. But it wasn't as creepy as seeing Monzaemon discreetly slip my device into his zipper, while the two idiots were too high on CRAZY to notice.

I'd have to give them a good smack when-…IF I got out of this.

**XXX**

I ran my hands through my long brown hair.

That sure was close. We almost lost our new friend. But what about the voice.

"Don't worry, Taichi." Monzaemon looked at me as I walked next to him.

"My silence hug has made sure that nasty voice won't bother you…ever again.

I grinned. What a nice master. He managed to stop the voices without harming me whatsoever.

Now we could spend forever together.

* * *

I'm dragging this out. Deal with it. But worry not! I've already started the next chapter! BTW from now on I use Xs to divide perspectives and times instead of ampersands.


	18. Let Me Stand Here All Night

"OFF! OFF! OFF! Get the HELL or I'll shove my foot STRAIGHT down your mouth and tear you a new one!"

How embarrassing.

ME! Mimi Tachikawa dangling from a freaking tree branch with a bunch of ravenous piles of slime, teeth, and eyeballs nipping at my cowboy-booted ankles. Even worse, the slime-bags had formed a sort of pyramid, not unlike a group of hideous cheerleaders, and one had managed to grab onto my left foot.

"Mimi!" I heard Palmon's voice call.

I looked up. She was standing on the branch above mine. Her Poison Ivy made her quite adept at tree climbing. Me? Not so much.

"Mimi! I don't like to use this attack 'cause it backfires a lot of the time, but I'll try it."

"Go for it!" I was willing to try anything at this point. I couldn't hang here forever.

"Close your eyes!" She shouted back.

I closed my eyes.

"PLANT SHOCK!" Her voice called

I heard loud crackling and sizzling sounds below me. The air instantly grew hotter, and screams filled my ear-drums. Palmon must have some serious power to cause it.

After a few minutes of sizzling and burning, I heard a lot of bush rustling, the sounds of fleeing. I smiled.

Palmon, you're my hero.

I opened my eyes just as Palmon fell off her branch.

"Palmon!" I grabbed her limp shrubby arm, catching her.

I let go of the tree and fell to the ground, my butt hitting the grass and Palmon in my lap.

I sat up, the tiny monster in my lap.

"Palmon you're a lifesav-"

I suddenly noticed Palmon was covered in burn marks. All over her skin, her arms, legs, and face. She was badly injured. This must be the backfire. And it was all my fault.

"Palmon!" I hugged her to me, feeling her waning warmth,

My tear ducts were brimming now.

"Palmon, I'm so sorry! You got hurt because of me. Hold on. I promise we'll get you some help."

I cradled her in my arms.

"Sorry. I gave Jyou my bag to hold back at the vending machine. I don't have anything to help you."

I stood up.

"But I promise I'll find you somebody who can."

"Maybe I can help." A voice said.

A chill went up my spine

More monsters? Already? Or did the Numemon came back?

I suddenly heard a rustling sound to my right.

"Who's there?" I turned to face the direction of the sound. I couldn't see anything. Whatever it was, the dark, densely packed woods were hiding it from me.

3 options came to mind:

1. Fight

2. Run

3. Bluff

I chose 3, "Listen! Whoever you are, or WHATEVER you are, I know martial arts! You think Bruce Lee is tough? I make him look Mokona Modoki! So if you're planning on eating me, you're getting a SERIOUS stomach cramp."

The rustling got louder

I set Palmon by the tree I'd previously hung from.

"Hold on, Palmon. I won't let it hurt you."

I clenched my fists and turned back to face the ever-loudening rustle of the forest.

"Hi! I didn't know you made Bruce Lee look like a manjuu-shaped CLAMP character."

I relaxed. Letting my hands drop to my sides.

Sora.

The redhead pushed a branch out of her way, as she left the forest and came into the clearing.

"SORA!"

I ran up to her, giggling, and wrapped my arms around her. She returned the hug, giggling as well.

We stood like that for a minute before either of us said anything.

"So, Mimi, what happened?"

"I'm so SORRY! It's all my fault that the group split up! Jyou and I found these vending machines and stupid me just HAD to have a drink, and then all these ugly green things came and attacked us! So we wound up leading them back to you guys! I was so scared!"

I was crying now, I couldn't stop it. I felt really stupid too, considering how minor this was compared to some of the stuff we'd faced. Well, come to think of it, not really me. Everyone else usually did everything. I always ran from the fighting, that's why Palmon got hurt.

"Palmon! I just remembered. Sora, we've GOTTA help Palmon."

I broke away from the embrace to point out my green, burned friend.

"Oh my. That isn't good. We must help her." Sora said, retaining a strangely calm demeanor.

"Well," Sora walked over and picked Palmon up in her arms, "We all met up in this town about a mile away. We can bring her there."

"What?" I said trying to look angry, but failing, "You should've told me instead of letting me act like a blubbering idiot."

I was giggling happily now, but Sora still had that eerily calm look on her face.

"Ready to go?" she asked.

"YUP!" I flashed her a big smile.

**Chapter 16**

Monzaemon's large red eyes stared down into my brown ones. I can't believe this. I just can't.

"Do I have to?" I asked

"Yes you do." He answered

"I really have to?"

"Yes you really do, Taichi. There's no getting out of this."

"But why?"

"You made a promise." He responded firmly

I let my head hang, making the sulkiest face I could manage. I pouted my lip and sighed, I did everything short of crying and it still wouldn't work on him.

I let out another sigh for good measure and turned to face the short redheaded boy.

He had a smugly happy smirk on his face.

Light poured through the skylight of Monzaemon's massive golden throne-room, casting a reflective yellow tint on his face.

The redhead began walking toward me, his steps echoing on the hardwood throne-room floor.

I grimaced as Koushiro firmly placed a hand on each of my shoulders.

"Relax Taichi, it'll be over before you know it."

Koushiro stood on his toes and leaned up towards me. I closed my eyes as I felt his lips against mine.

**XXX**

"Um…Sora?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you sure about this place?" I asked her, looking around at the so-called 'Town'.

"Why do you ask?"

"Well…" It's not that I really had a problem with it, but there was just something really weird in this atmosphere. The roads were paved with stone, like those streets in England, while the buildings themselves looked like they were modeled after a Disney castle, shiny, colorful, and yet completely fake. Hey, don't blame ME if my parents decided on a Florida vacation.

"Was this place attacked or something?" I asked her, "It looks completely deserted."

"Oh, is that what you're worried about?" She flashed me that inexplicably eerie grin, "There are residents here. They just remain in-doors as our master dictates."

OUR? That's it. Something weird was going on, but I'd just have to wait and see before I asked her any more questions.

Apparently we were now headed to the town's resident doctor to get Palmon treatment for her burns.

"So, Sora, exactly where is this doct-AAAAAAAH!"

I felt a strong pang in my heart, which I clutched reflexively. I crumpled to the ground, writhing in immense pain. Was it a heart attack? Aren't I a little young to have heart attack?

My red-headed friend dropped Palmon and ran towards my fallen body. I couldn't hear a word she was saying. She looked like somebody hit the mute button on her voice, kind of funny in a way.

My skin was getting hotter. Sweat was pouring into my eyes, blinding me to the sight of my mute, red-headed friend. I hoped that I wouldn't have to die here, what with all the scary giant monsters. Not all bad monsters either, I reached my hand out to Palmon, clutching my heart with the other.

Can't breath anymore. Palmon, sorry I couldn't save you. Everything went black. This last words I heard were:

"Don't worry. You'll be one of us, soon."

**XXX**

"Hello Lord Monzaemon?"

_Yes, Sora, what is it?_

"Just checking in to tell you the mission was a success!"

_Oh really? That's fantastic! I'm so proud of you. And you know it was all possible thanks to your unbreakable love._

I blushed. What a nice thing to say, even if it WASN'T true.

"Monzaemon-sama, you don't need to flatter me. I know I'm incapable of love."

_Now, Now, Sora, I won't have you acting down on yourself. What you did was a remarkable thing. And she really didn't notice you on your device?_

"Nope. I convinced her to let me stay ahead so Palmon could make it to the doctor first. From there it was just a matter of balancing our green friend here, and your special device. You deserve the credit for creating one that remotely make someone our friend by connecting to their device."

_Now who's the flatterer, Ms. Heart of Ice?_

I giggled and looked down in my hand, to once again look at my master's impressive device. It looked just like the devices we received upon coming here, except it was GOLD with RED buttons.

_Now Sora, this is VERY important. Did you remember to remove the device from your friend's body?_

"I didn't think of that."

_Well next time, think of everything before you do something stupid like calling me without the device._

I felt his voice disappear from my mind and sighed. Poor Monzaemon. Having to put up with me. He's so nice.

I turned to my unconscious friend, adjusting my crouched position. Where would Mimi keep her device? Maybe her bag?

I grabbed Mimi's left hand to try and turn over, hoping to get the bag easier that way. I moved her hand away from her heart and saw the strangest thing. There was a greenly glowing raindrop-shaped symbol over her heart.

"What the F-"

A Blinding flash of green light sent me into black unconsciousness.

**XXX**

Koushiro pressed his lips to Taichi, who was less than in favor of it. Good. After the kiss ended, Taichi would come to me, complaining that he doesn't want anyone but ME to kiss him. I'd make Koushiro the bad guy, saying I was only following my strong sense of justice. Meanwhile, Koushiro would come to me, thanking me, and I'd tell him that his love for Taichi is DESTINED, and he just had to keep pushing.

I distance THEM, while making them closer to me. And it's all thanks to you.

I looked down at the small device in my paw. Taichi's special device, the one that brought him and his friends to this world., the very thing that could end my master's existence. I could end it so easily right now. I could SQUEEZE the device until it broke into a thousand pieces. I could single-handedly END the prophecy of the Chosen Children AND their digivices, so much power in such fragile little bodies. But no.

Winning THAT easily isn't my style, and besides, the guardians would just REGAIN the power and give it to a new generation. Better to freeze it here where I can keep a watchful eye on it and its holders.

Once I had them all under my thrall, there would be no stopping me, or Devimon.

Suddenly I felt a strange vibration in the device. I closed my eyes. There was a strange, unfamiliar energy coursing through the device. What was that?

I opened my eyes to see a strange symbol on the device. OH NO

**XXX**

Raindrops.

Nothing but Raindrops

Aren't you supposed to see fireworks when you kiss someone?

All I saw for miles around were Billions of silvery raindrops. Why?

Why am I seeing this?

I stood still, thinking. Last place I remember being was Monzaemon's throne room, I was kissing Koushiro. I was mad, and then I came here, to this huge dark place with nothing but raindrops.

Why?

I felt my eyes close, letting myself FEEL the raindrops. They were so gentle and light. I felt the tension roll off me in waves. My shoulders relaxes as a warm feeling was filling my chest.

I looked up again and saw a pair of shiny black eyes, shadowing everything with their depth. They're so dark, like the night sky, and yet so BIG I couldn't see the sky behind them. I should be afraid.

I feel the anger fighting its way back into my heart.

Should I fight it? Should I embrace it?

"Or should I just let go" I hear a female voice say behind me.

I turned around

"Mimi!"

**XXX**

"Taichi!" Koushiro shouted breaking away from the kiss.

My vision cleared, I looked down to see a certain frightened redhead staring at me.

"Koushiro, what's wrong?"

"T-Taichi! Y-Y-You're Glowing!"

I looked down at my body. So I was. What was that place? Why was I there? Why was Mimi there? Only one way to find out.

I grabbed Koushiro's hair and roughly pulled him into another kiss, I felt him smile against my mouth.

**XXX**

My eyes opened again. I was in that same dark, rain-filled place.

Mimi stood in front of me, her leather-gloved hands clasped in front of her. This was weird. But I couldn't act shell-shocked forever.

I marched across whatever invisible force made up this strange world, and grabbed Mimi by her collar, reeling back my fist for a possible punch.

"Now, tell me what you're doing here, and just where the HELL here is."

She just grinned

"Simple! I'm here to ask you a favor that WILL help you, and we're inside your eyes."

"My…eyes? That's crazy talk! And how do I know you're REALLY Mimi?"

The pink-clad cowgirl kneed me in the groin, HARD, grabbing my ear like a mother scolding her child.

"Any questions?"

"Yeah." I grunted in obvious pain, "What's this favor?"

Once again, she grinned.

"Just say yes and let ME drive."

**XXX**

Taichi pulled his lips away from mine, leaving me reeling. What a great kisser, I love him SO MUCH!

I looked up at him, and felt my swooning come to a screeching stop.

"Um…Taichi…what's wrong with your eyes?"

Instead of the chocolate brown color I had come to love, they were now an emerald GREEN color.

A wide grin split his face as he gave me a thumbs-up sign and said:

"Why Nothing, my adorable Kou-Chan!"

"T-Taichi?" I asked, my eyes widening

"Yes, Kou-chan?"

"W-What's up with your voice? It's all squeaky and effeminate. A-And why are you calling me Kou-CHAN? And saying I'm A-ADORABLE and YOURS? I-I thought you said you didn't l-like me anymore."

Taichi frowned briefly, but his grin quickly came back.

"Why wouldn't I like you? You're so cute."

I felt a blush creeping into my cheeks. Is Taichi going crazy? Or was the kiss THAT good?

"Hey, don't worry, Kou-chan!" he said, flashing me a grin and a wink, "But right now, I've gotta go."

And fast as he could, Taichi ran past me out the throne room's large entrance.

"Koushiro! Stop him!" I heard Monzaemon call.

"Koushiro, DON'T!" I heard Taichi's voice call back

How could I stop him? I loved him...even more than my lord. I just stood there, listening to Monzaemon growl, feeling an increasing sense of happiness and shame intertwining together.

**XXX**

"Okay. I SOOOOOOOOOOO Don't talk like that!"

"Are you kidding? Did you HEAR yourself talk back in the sewer?" I glared at Taichi. He really shouldn't be so stubborn about this.

"You made me sound like a teenage GIRL! Not to mention the fact that you LIED to Koushiro!"

"Lie? What lie?" I was confused

"You told him that I LIKED him. Now I'll have to put him back in his place all over again!"

I shook my head sympathetically. Poor Taichi couldn't even remember his own feelings. Wonder what made him forget? Maybe this 'Lord Monzaemon' guy? Either way, I'd find a way to remind him.

"So anyway," Taichi softened his tone, "Exactly where are you taking my body?"

I smiled

"To me."

He seemed to think for a second, in the end he just grumbled:

"Well hurry up. My clothes are getting soaked again."

If only he knew why he wasn't mad the first time it happened. But it felt kind of good in a way.

As long as I was in control of his body he couldn't condescend me.

**XXX**

"There it is! I can see it!" Mimi shouted, shaking me out of my thoughts

"What?" I asked

Mimi waved her hand in front of her face and I could suddenly SEE another Mimi. Only this one was unconscious, lying against a brick building.

Next to her was our feisty redheaded friend, also lying unconscious.

"Hey, what'd you do to her?" I asked Mimi, turning to her.

"The same thing I plan to do to you, Tai-kun." Mimi said, her eyes suddenly glowing bright green, "And of course, Mimi-chan."

My eyes widened, "Hey, what's that supposed to-MMPH!"

Mimi's gloved hand was suddenly pressed up against my mouth. Wasn't she just ten feet away?

"Relax, Tai-kun. This'll hurt a LOT less if you don't struggle." I suddenly realized the rain had stopped. I looked up and saw that one of the black eyes had turned brown. Each Eye reflected a strange symbol.

The Brown eye had a WEIRD, Orange star-shaped symbol with a lot of points. The black eye had a big circle linked to a small one.

Should I even guess what's going on here? I brought my eyes back to Mimi, or the person who LOOKS like Mimi but apparently isn't.

Mimi-Look-Alike removed her glove, and I could only manage to ask one question:

"Who ARE you?"

Her mouth slid into a tight grin and she said, "I'm Mimi's Digivice. Nice to Meet'cha!"

* * *

Sorry guys. NOT the last chapter, but the end is definitely near! Hope you enjoyed this chapter, I really tried to make it better over my last chapters. I'm also working towards making Taichi and Koushiro more interesting before the ending. :D


	19. Strategy In The Spotlight

"Koushiro."

I knelt before my yellow master, meeting his red-eyed gaze, ready to accept my punishment.

"I just want you to know-"

Here it comes

"-That I don't blame you."

"W-What?"

"It's not your fault that Tai ran. It's not your fault that Tai paralyzed you by toying with your emotions. It's not entirely his fault either."

I let out a sigh of relief. Maybe Tai could escape punishment now.

"It's her fault."

My eyes shot back to Monzaemon

"H-Her?"

"Yes, her. Let me show you."

Monzaemon's eyes seemed to glow red.

"Look into my eyes, Koushiro."

I followed his order, even though doing so gave me a dizzy feeling. I began to feel nauseous, just when I felt like passing out, Monzaemon said, "Koushiro, look at my tummy."

I lowered my gaze, and felt paralyzed. There on Monzaemon's stomach was the face of Mimi Tachikawa.

"M-Mimi? It's Mimi? What did she do to Taichi?"

"She seduced him away from us. It's too late to bring him back now."

"I-I don't believe you! Tai wouldn't do that to me!"

"I wouldn't expect you to, Koushiro. You're very loyal. That's what a like about you, and that's why I want YOU to confront them, confirm their betrayal for yourself."

"R-really?"

"Yes. But there IS something I want you to take when you confront them."

Chapter 17

"So, what exactly ARE you anyway? What's a Digivice? Why do you look like Mimi? How are you inside my eyes? How am I inside my eyes? Where are we? What are Digimon? Why can they evolve so much faster than normal? Did somebody send you to us-"

"WHOA, WHOA, Kid. Cool it! This isn't a game of twenty questions. I can't give you ALL the answers. But I can tell you that we were sent by people who want to help you, I look like Mimi because that's the form I took when I chose her, and you're inside your eyes 'cause that's where It's easiest for me to protect you."

"P-protect me?"

"Do you know how vulnerable you are without your digivice? He was BEGGING me to help you."

"Wait, so then my Digivice took MY form?"

"PRECISELY! Now you're catching on."

"So what do you ACTUALLY look like?"

"I look a lot more like that light from Poltergeist."

I gave her a confused stare.

"You know, like 'Don't go into the light'?"

I continued staring

"Look, Mimi LOVES American Movies okay?"

"Whatever. Long as you get the hell out of my head."

"But Taichi, that's the fun part."

"What is?"

"Returning to power"

She then flashed me a devilish grin that seemed impossible for somebody as cheerful and happy as her.

**X X X**

All alone.

I've never been all alone before. I don't like it. I bet nobody likes it.

I HATE being alone.

I looked up

The only light being let in to this place seemed to be the same square-shaped window that was always there.

My home's always been like this, a dark cavern with a single spotlight shining down on me.

I've never felt alone before. I always had HIM.

I used to be able to look up through my window and see that pair of shiny black eyes, that inquisitive heart.

Now all I get is a pair of malicious RED eyes, eyes that scare me. I'd never let that on though.

I remember the first time we met. I was nothing but light when Gennai sent me to earth. Then HE chose me! And suddenly I had emotions and thoughts of my own! I could always feel my chosen child. I always knew what he was feeling, his sadness, loneliness, pain, and happiness.

I was proud to guide him through the digital world, helping him get stronger, helping him and Tentomon evolve.

I just felt cold now.

My 'body' collapsed into a fetal position. I suddenly felt something wet on my face. I put a hand to it and pulled back. I looked at my hand. Tears? Are these his tears or my tears? He seemed to cry a lot. It could get a little annoying.

"Maybe this means he actually feels something." I chuckled bitterly, aware of how numb Koushiro was now.

"Nope. Sorry, K. Those are your tears." A familiar voice said.

My eyes darted upwards to see a swarm of pixels bringing a tall shape slowly into existence under my spotlight.

Chocolate hair, Chocolate eyes, Chocolate skin…a chocolate boy.

"Hey, T." I said giving a weak wave, "What are you doing here?"

"I came to give you a little morale boost." He said, kneeling down

"Sorry, T. I don't think there's anything you can do for me." I said, blatantly.

"Look, K. If my guy can cheer your guy up, I should at least be able to do the same for you, right? We do have the same personalities after all."

"I don't think a make-out session is gonna cheer me by the way, exactly how did you get out of your digivice?"

"M let me out, after making me PROMISE to come cheer you up. She apparently doesn't trust me to help my own chosen child. Can you believe that?"

"What does M want with your chosen child?" I sat up. This sort of thing piqued my inherited personality

"She's hitching a ride on him to get back to her chosen child. In exchange for her purifying MY guy, she sent me here to cheer you up."

"Oh. So that's why you're here." My depression came back. I didn't need any charity

"Only part of it. I DO care about you, K. After all, my child's feelings are my feelings, right? I have all the same reactions to your pale skin, your red hair, your piercing black eyes."

Well…at least I wouldn't be alone. And besides, I did have feelings for that body.

T on the ground tentatively pulled me into an embrace. I could feel his warmth, and my loneliness for now at least felt eased.

We stayed like that for a while, until I felt something wet on my leg.

I looked down and saw that blood was now pouring out of T's leg.

I broke the embrace, moving away from him.

"Y-Your leg! What's happening to your leg!"

T never stopped smiling. He just shrugged his shoulders and said, "I guess my child must've done something stupid again. Gotta go!"

The chocolate boy disintegrated leaving nothing but a puddle of blood under my spotlight.


	20. Gonna Be Hell To Pay

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Red blood poured freely over the stone street as the sounds of screaming bounced from wall to wall.

I was frozen where I stood, in fear for my life

I could do nothing but take in this insane scene before me.

To my left, Sora's body was face-down and unconscious lying next to what looked like the broken remains of one of our devices. To my right was poor Palmon's fried, injured body, and straight ahead of me Tai was on the ground screaming from the pain of a knife wedged into his thigh.

Most shocking of all was Koushiro, who stood over Tai, his eyes dead of emotion and an eerie smile on his face.

The screaming suddenly stopped as Tai pulled the knife out of his leg. The chocolate-colored boy was now panting, clearly trying to control the pain.

"K-Koushiro. Why?" Taichi asked gritting his teeth.

That got his attention.

"Why?" Koushiro said, seemingly to himself

Instead of answering, the redhead started giggling. Hard. He giggled so hard that his feet gave out beneath him. He lay there a couple feet away from Taichi, convulsing with laughter.

What was so funny about the word 'why'? In any case, he was distracted. And now was my chance.

I ran toward the injured Taichi and knelt down.

"Come on, Taichi. Let's get out of here." I said quietly.

I grabbed his hand to help him up and the giggling stopped.

"GET YOUR HAND-", I looked up, "OFF HIM!"

Koushiro was standing again, the knife in his hand poised for stabbing. I did the only thing I could think of.

"AAAAAAAH!"

Koushiro hit the pavement like a sack of wet cement. I could still see the mark my knuckle left on his face.

And now it was time to run.

I grabbed the hand of a thoroughly stunned Taichi and dragged him into a Half-stumble/Half-run, suppressing the regret of leaving my two unconscious friends behind.

**Chapter 18**

I sat up on the stone street.

I looked around, examining my settings. Taichi and Mimi were now gone, although I could still the see Tai's puddle of blood. I smiled to myself thinking what a beautiful scream Tai had. I want to hear it again. But damn it! How am I supposed to find them?

That's when I noticed two bodies lying on the street. Living bodies.

My smile widened! What a perfect scenario. Two 'Hostages' to bring that blonde bitch straight to her knees, leaving Tai out in the open, making him VULNERABLE

I licked my lips thinking about it.

I stood up and walked towards the unconscious redhead. In a couple minutes I was dragging her along by her hair, pulling Palmon by her arm.

Yes. It was only a matter of time 'til they got what was coming to them.

**XXX**

I ignored the pants and pleadings of Taichi as I dragged him as fast as I could, zigzagging through the alleyways of this creepy plastic town.

When I was a lot younger, my parents were afraid that anybody could just grab me off the streets of Odaiba, so they hired the best instructors to teach me about the weak points on the human body and ways to elude my captors.

My parents were paranoid, but I guess it paid off.

Taichi finally collapsed behind me, unable to move any further. I crouched down to help him.

"Come on, Taichi! We've gotta keep moving or we're screwed!"

"Why the hell'd you do that, Mimi! I didn't even get to ask Kou-chan what's wrong with him!"

Kou-Chan?

I let out a brief fangirl squeal, before re-composing myself.

"Wait! So now you REMEMBER liking him? Does this mean you're not a sociopath anymore?"

"Wait! How'd you know about THAT? We JUST met back up."

"My digivice and I share close quarters, remember?"

"So now you can talk to yours? I'm so confused!"

"No, the way it actually works is-"

"W-WHO ARE YOU?" A voice said

Taichi and I turned to see a very familiar blond-haired boy.

"Takeru?" Taichi asked

"H-How do you know my name?"

I stood up, "Now, now, Takeru. Don't be afraid. Just come with us, and everything will be fine."

"No! You're a stranger. And Papa Monzaemon told me to bring any and all strangers straight to him."

"Just calm down, Buddy." Taichi urged him

"No! Don't tell me what to do! ONII-SAN!"

CRAP!

* * *

Another short chappie, meant more to bridge this one and the next chapter, where I'll reveal explicitly what happened and how Taichi wound up with a knife in the leg. In the meantime, enjoy this chapter, guys! And please review! :D


	21. Life Into Love And Horror

I couldn't stop the grand smile that broke across my face. Everything was happening according to plan. The seeds of hatred were planted in the blond boy's mind, the redhead had now committed an act of violence, and the chosen children were slowly losing their minds. But the plan hadn't succeeded yet.

"MONZAEMON!" I shouted

I could see the yellow bear began to sweat profusely through my mirror of energy. His terror was highly amusing.

"Y-Yes, D-Devimon-Sama?"

"Bring them to me."

"B-Bring you what?"

"THE DEVICES!"

"OH YES! Of COURSE! One second. Toy-Agumon?"

A small dinosaur made of hideous plastic blocks entered the mirror's line of sight. He held in his ugly misshapen hands a small wooden box, which I knew held my prize.

The bear took the box from the dinosaur and held it up to my mirror.

"Here they are, Devimon-Sama! Now what did you want with-"

"POISON PARTICLES!"

I blew as hard as I could at the surface of the mirror. When I opened my eyes, there was a large black cloud taking up most of the mirror. I made out the unconscious bodies of the bear and his plastic minion. Suspended inside my cloud was the wooden box that contained the keys to my death.

Were I able to, I would've destroyed the devices on the spot. But you couldn't destroy them unless they were altogether. If I could only get my hands on that last device, I'd be safe. Stupid tenacious humans.

"Master Devimon."

I whirled around to face my blond-headed charge, the only other person in the cave with me.

"Yes?"

"What are you going to do to those humans?" he asked, not in an accusing tone, just curious.

I chuckled, "I've never had an apprentice ask that before. I'll answer this time, but don't make questions a habit."

The blond nodded and I continued, "You see, Yama-kun, each and every human in that town has a special device, a lot like the one I confiscated from you. And inside each one of those devices a special sort of…bodyguard, to protect you from something bad happening. Whenever you or one of those humans is in danger, that bodyguard does something special to your digimon partner to help them evolve."

"You mean like Gabumon?"

"Yes, Yes. Exactly like Gabumon. And what's the best way to weaken a human?"

"Remove their Digimon?"

"Correct, Yama-kun! That way they don't have any way to fight back."

"But master, what if they group together?"

"That's where the devices come in, my boy! The humans share a special connection with their bodyguards. So if a certain all-powerful master attacked the GOODNESS in their bodyguards, what do you think would happen?"

Yamato paused for a second, thinking it over before answering me.

"Their personalities would get darker?"

"Exactly! And then what?"

"They'll start turning on each other?"

"And then?"

My blond apprenticed smiled. It was no ordinary smile either. It was an evil smile.

"We win."

**Chapter 19 **

Cold.

Cold.

Why is this place so dark and cold?

I looked around me. So much water everywhere…the ocean floor.

I looked up. There was light above the water. I could see it from here, but it didn't reach the ocean floor. I wonder what people think when they see the top of the water? It's probably all wavey and shimmery, when people see it they probably say stuff like, 'Oh, how beautiful!' or 'So Lovely!'.

Do they ever realize how cold the water is?

How dark it is underneath?

Does anyone bother to look past the surface? More likely they already know and just don't give a damn. After all, who cares if the water's cold as long as it's beautiful?

I let out a sigh…or whatever it's called underwater.

I probably should've started crying at my loneliness. The water would only get higher though. Where's the point in adding to years of frozen tears shed for lost parental love and dozens of meaningless boyfriends.

I can feel the numbness setting in. The water is crushing me, trapping me to the ocean floor. I won't fight it. There's no point. I'll never reach the top. I turned over and lost myself in the distance of this sea. I thought on my decision for a minute, deciding I could live with it. But if I was giving up, that meant-"One Last Thing."

I turned over and began writing into the sand. The water didn't wash my words away as I worked quickly to write my last words.

When done, I examined my spelling and word choice and turned away from it, simultaneously hoping that someone would or wouldn't find it:

MY TEARS FILLED THIS OCEAN

MY STRENGTH CARRIED THESE TEARS

I GIVE MY BODY TO THIS ROCK

THESE TEARS PRESERVE MY SOUL

IF I EVER REACH THE TOP…

…I'LL HAVE DIED AND ENTERED HEAVEN

-LAST DYING WISH: CREMATION AT MY FUNERAL

SORA TAKENOUCHI

BIRTHDAY: OCTOBER 10, 1991

DATE OF DEATH:AUGUST 20, 2008

**XXX**

"TAI-CHAN!" I kicked through a wooden door and gazed in. Empty! Nothing but some chairs and scattered kitchen appliances. Damn it!

I walked back out into the street.

"TAI-CHAN! OH TAI-CHAN! WHERE ARE YOU!"

I kicked another innocent house open. This time there was a family of those green monsters that came from the vending machines.

"W-What do you want?" one of them asked, noticing me.

I licked my lips, approaching the one that asked. "What are you doing?" Another asked me. I grabbed the first one and slammed it HARD against the wall.

A held the knife at the place its throat should be.

"What do I want? I want my Tai-chan. Can you tell me where my Tai-chan is?"

"N-N-N-O." It stuttered

I sliced its throat open, its blood splattering on my skin and clothes. Funny, I always thought these things disappeared when you killed them.

I heard the sounds of shrieking and fleeing as the other green things left through the opening I made. Cowardly creatures didn't even try to help their comrade.

I looked at my hand, bloodied by the green creature whose remains lay a few feet away. Hmm. I wonder. I hesitantly brought my hand to my face…and licked my bloodied finger.

"YUCK! That's disgusting! It's so salty and bitter! Not nearly as sweet as my Tai-chan's blood!"

I looked at the green body on the floor, and before I knew, I started kicking. I started kicking the body as hard as I could against the wall. The hollow thuds of its body mingled with the dust that rose with each kick. I imagined it was Tai-chan I was kicking! Ruining that perfectly beautiful chocolate face, leaving my mark on him, making him mine forever!

"DAMN! IT! TAI! AS SOON AS I FIND YOU! I'LL SHOW YOU HOW MUCH I LOVE YOU! I'LL MAKE YOU SCREAM! MAKE YOU CRY TEARS OF BLOOD!"

I ran out into the street!

"YOU HEAR THAT TAI! I'M GONNA LOVE YOU TO DEATH!"

At this thought, I couldn't help laughing again! Every thought was about DESTROYING Tai-Chan's body with my love and BREAKING him so he could never leave me again!

I resumed searching house by house, fully trusting my love to lead me to Tai!

* * *

Today is a special afterword. As you know, it's only a week from the One Year anniversary of this story's publishing and in case I don't get another new chapter up by then, I owe a very special thanks to Rokutagrl and Kacsnaruhina who've been there with me right from the beginning of this. You guys reviewed, and criticized (Constructively), and never held back your opinion. All of our long discussions about writing really helped me as a stumbling author to beat and shape my first real fanfic into a respectable story. So many ideas and concepts for this story I owe to the both of you, so in case I don't get a chance to say this before-hand, THANK YOU! The both of you! And MERRY CHRISTMAS, Since that's only 5 days away. :)


	22. No Longer You And I

"PETITE THUNDER!"

I heard a loud clang when the lock fell to the floor. Finally. The led on our box opened as my comrades and I jumped out of the box that held us captive.

"I'm sure glad we're out of there!" Agumon said next to me, "Now! Where's Taichi?"

"Where's Sora?" Piyomen mentioned

"Where's Takeru?" Patamon added

My friends began bickering about who to look for first, when Gomamon injected some logic into out conversation, "Look guys. They're probably around here SOMEWHERE. Why don't we split up and start looking for 'em?"

"What if we fall into the same traps we did before?" I mentioned.

"We'll go in pairs." Agumon turned to me, "That way, if one of us falls into the trap then their partner can free them."

"But we have an odd number of digimon here. Who'll go alone?" Piyomon asked

"I'll go alone." I said, bringing surprised looks to my friends' faces

"Are you sure about that?" Patamon asked

"I'm sure. Look at it this way. If Agumon or Gomamon get trapped, Piyomon or Patamon can fly them away. Or if those two are trapped in the air, their partner on the ground can free them through superior attack power. I can fly AND I have enough attack power to defend myself. Not to mention my shell is hard as a rock if I wind up in danger. Believe me, you guys can go on ahead!"

My comrades were silent for a minute, seeming to deliberate in their minds whether they'd stop me or not.

Finally Agumon broke the silence, "Alright. But if you need any help be sure to scream as loud as you can, alright?"

"Okay." I agreed.

The others still seemed to be unsure, but didn't protest. Agumon shot a fireball through the window of the house we currently stood in. Piyomon grabbed his arm by the feet and flew out the newly opened path.

Palmon lifted Gomamon out the window in a similar fashion of flying and carrying. I decided to leave by the door instead.

I stepped out onto the street and found myself greeted by the intensity of daylight. My sensitive eyesight was aggravated, and all that time in a small dark place didn't help much either. Upon adjusting to the sights around me, I couldn't help noticing how creepy this place was.

All the buildings looked really fake, and plastic. Who would want to live here, I wonder?

At that exact moment my eyes caught sight of a red liquid splattered on the ground. What is that?

I flew over to the puddle of liquid. I leaned towards it and inhaled. It smelled like Koushiro. I high-pitched scream filled my ears! Was one of our friends in danger?

The scream was coming from a house down the street. I flew as fast as my wings could take me.

**Chapter 20  
**

"I'm going to ask you one more time, Takeru. What happened to you and Koushiro?"

"Shut up, you shit-face! Let me go!"

I couldn't help letting out a sigh. I turned to Mimi who sat under the window sill, "You got any ides?"

"No. But I did tell you the good cop/bad cop routine wouldn't work."

"Only 'cause you won't play bad cop!"

"Look, Taichi. It's obvious that Takeru's been BRAINWASHED by Monzaemon's powers. Our best shot at getting Takeru back to normal is to find his digivice."

"Well you should know something about where those are then, right?"

Mimi just stared at me like I was crazy, and who knows? Maybe I was? After all, I had just tied up a little boy and was now interrogating him like a criminal. We would've been screwed though if we hadn't taken shelter in the nearest building, which had proved to be just as weird as the rest of this place. The outside may have looked like clean white plastic, but INSIDE the building, the walls and floor were just dried, solid mud and there was nothing in here but a coffee table, a chair (that currently seated Takeru), and a bunch of broken toys scattered all over the floor. If this place didn't creep me out before, it sure as hell did now.

"Well? Do you know where they are, Mimi?"

Mimi stood up, maintaining that hard stare. What was she looking at? Did I have a zit?

"I think the only one who'd know where they are…is Taichi."

"W-what? What are you talking about? I AM Taich!"

"No you're not. You're no more Taichi than I am Mimi. So let's just drop the act, okay?"

"Who…who are you?"

"I'm M. I just took over Mimi's body during the…transfer. That's how I know you're not Taichi. You're just T, his digivice."

"But…how do you know I'm not the real Taichi?"

"The real Taichi is gone, T. You're not going to get the answers you want by interrogating this kid."

"Like I said, how do you know I'm not really Taichi?"

"When I first entered Mimi's body, I still had all her memories from the time we were bonded. I was confused, and for a little while I really thought I WAS Mimi…until my head cleared that is. I'm just as sure you thought you were Taichi, but the real Taichi wouldn't have that gap in his memory of the time he served Monzaemon."

Speechlessness overcame me. I hadn't even wondered why I couldn't remember my time with Monzaemon. I assumed it was a side effect of the brain-washing.

M placed her hand (Or Mimi's hand) on my shoulder and squeezed.

"Now that you know the truth, your memory's going to come back little by little and you'll remember how much you miss your partner, T. I miss Mimi just as much. But you're not going to find any answers from this kid, okay?"

I looked back at the blond now quietly sulking in his chair. He didn't have any more control over himself than I did. There was only one thing I could do now.

I brushed M's hand off my shoulder and ran straight for the door!

"Wait! Where are you going, T?"

I swung the door open and looked back at her.

"You'll have to watch the kid for a while, M! I'm going out!"

"Where are you going?"

"To find Koushiro! I'm sure he has the answer to getting Taichi back!"

"But T-"

"And don't worry, M. I'm going to get Mimi back for you too!"

**XXX**

I cautiously opened the door of the building where the scream originated.

Standing in the corner was a short, pale-skinned boy with red hair and blood on his face. In his hands was a blob of green, quivering flesh.

"K-Koushiro…?"

He looked up at me.

"Do you know…where my Tai-chan is?"

* * *

Sorry for the wait on this chapter guys, but this story has a definite end in sight! Enjoy! :D And of course, as always, please review!


	23. No One Can Hear Me Scream

"Do you know…where my Tai-chan is?"

"K-Koushiro? W-What are you doing here? This place isn't safe."

The redhead boy quietly chuckled to himself, while cradling the blob.

Something was definitely off here. Why was Koushiro covered in blood? Should I start asking questions?

"So…um…Koushiro? Do you know anything about the others? Where are they and what's happening them?"

It seemed like Koushiro didn't even hear me. All he did was stand there holding that blob…which was eerily familiar.

"Please, Koushiro! Why are you ignoring me? This is important. Do you know where any of the others are? You know, your FRIENDS? Jyou? Sora? Mimi? Taichi-"

All the breath left my body as I was sent fly across the room. I felt my wings crushed against the wall as my body hit the dirt floor.

"Where…is…my…Taichi?"

I gazed up at my assailant. The blood gave his pale face a disturbing glow as his mouth dropped into an evil-looking smile.

"K-Koushiro? What are you doing?" I coughed a little, still feeling the pain of that impact.

"You know…don't you?" Koushiro reached into his pocket, "Where my…Tai-Chan is."

The black-eyed boy pulled something sharp and metal out of his pocket, letting the blob drop from his pocket with a sickening SPLAT.

Koushiro began moving towards me, still giggling cheerfully. Damn, why did he attack me? And here I was to weak to defend myself.

"Tell me where…my Tai-chan-"

"PETITE THUNDER!"

A bolt of blue electricity hit the red-head, eliciting a high-pitched scream. I looked to my right and saw a familiar red bug-digimon entering the creepy building.

"TENTOMON! I'm so glad to see you!"

"Patamon? What are you doing in here?"

"Well, I heard a scream coming from this building and I thought it might've been one of our friends, so then I came in here and-"

"Where…is my Tai-chan?"

I gulped as I looked back to Koushiro. His clothes were now emitting a thick, gray smoke from the shock. But his skin was bleeding now too1 It was a miracle he'd maintained consciousness!

"K-Koushiro?" Tentomon seemed to realize who he'd just attacked.

"No. Tentomon, that's not Koushiro."

"What do you mean?"

"There's something wrong with him. We need to find others to help him."

"But what about him?" Tentomon asked, concerned for his friend.

"Nothing for now. If we stay here-"

"Tai-Chan-"

"-We're DEAD!"

**Chapter 21**

Stupid T

I should've just let him think he was Taichi

I let out a sigh as I slumped to the floor

If only I could leave this place to go find T and bring him back. We definitely needed some reinforcements before we went out in the open like that!

2 people? That was NOTHING against Monzaemon's army. Or rather, 2 Non-People inhabiting the bodies of 2 people. Had things gotten so bad we needed to play 'invasion of the body snatchers' to keep our partners safe? If so, we sure sucked at it. I barely convinced that creature inside Taichi's body to take me back to mimi's. If he thought I was doing anything other than 'healing' him, he could've devoured me whole on the spot. Luckily I had a good poker face…and that creature's ignorance of his own power.

I stood up to look out the window. It was night now. The street-lights were on, giving the street a truly ugly orange glow.

Did T plan to fight in the dark?

He should've at least planned to free our partners' Digimon to help us out.

It was then that I heard a quiet giggling from the corner of the room.

I turned to see our young blond friend chuckling uncontrollably.

"What's so funny?"

The boy looked up at me and shouted: "ONII-SAN!"

"O-Onii-san? Listen, Takeru, Yamato's not even-"

CRASH!

I whirled around to see a pale arm had punched its way through the locked door.

"ONII-SAN! HELP!"

Oh Crap.

* * *

Alright! Please review as always! Coming up next? THE GRAND FINALE TO MY STORY! MWAHAHAHAHAH! And yes, I ACTUALLY MEAN IT THIS TIME. Please leave plenty of suggestions for how you want to see it end. :D


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